Intellectual Property

 

Intellectual property is information and original expression that derives its intrinsic value from creative ideas and has commercial value. Ownership is subject to international, federal, and state laws and to this University policy.

 

 

For the clarity of this policy, Intellectual Property can be categorized as follows:

 

Scholarly work – material prepared for traditional academic publications, such as scholarly journals, or other texts of a scholarly nature.

 

Creative work – artistic works, musical or dramatic compositions and performances, literary works, etc. Works of a primarily aesthetic nature.

 

Course materials – material of a pedagogical intent, used by the faculty member and University in the course of the University’s educational mission. This generally means materials intended for the immediate use of a student in a course.

 

This policy shall apply to faculty, staff, and students. For brevity, in this document below “faculty” means “faculty member,” and “faculty/staff/student” means “faculty member, staff employee, or student.”

 

The faculty/staff/student owns the intellectual property under the following conditions:

·        If the intellectual property is unrelated to the faculty/staff/student job responsibilities and no more than incidental use was made of University resources; or

·        If the intellectual property is scholarly work and/or creative work as defined above.

 

The University owns the property under the following conditions:

·        If the intellectual property, other than scholarly work and/or creative work as defined above, is created within the scope of employment on University time with the use of University facilities, or University financial support; or

·        If the intellectual property is commissioned by the University or a component of the University pursuant to a signed contract or if it is considered work for hire under copyright law; or

·        If the intellectual property results from research supported by federal, state, or university funds or third-party sponsorship designated to the University; or

·        If the intellectual property consists of course materials specifically intended for the University’s instructional mission.

 

The University and faculty/staff/student own the intellectual property jointly:

·        If criteria for University ownership and individual ownership (as set forth above) overlap; or

·        If the faculty/staff/student involved in the creation of the intellectual property worked in collaboration with other University employees, for whom the creation was a part of their employment responsibilities, as part of a team to contribute the kind of expression intended to be part of an integrated whole. The University’s employees who work as programmers, graphic artists, video technicians, script writers, and other University support personnel create this kind of expression. When added to the faculty/staff/student contribution, the result is a jointly-authored work.

 

Jointly owned intellectual property is shared between the faculty/staff/student and the University when there is commercial value. For this to occur there must be (a) an offer and an identifiable buyer with whom to negotiate; and (b) a negotiated, written letter of agreement executed between the faculty/staff/student and the University. The agreement shall be negotiated with the faculty/staff/student by the appropriate vice president and approved by the President, in accordance with State and University policy. The agreement shall stipulate the percentage of ownership between the faculty/staff/student and the University, indicate who pays and how research and development costs are recovered, and describe future uses of the intellectual property. In the event percentage of ownership and payment and recovery of research and development costs are not addressed in writing, then the economic relationship is shared on a 50%/50% basis after the recovery of research and development costs.

 

When termination of employment (faculty/staff/student) or enrollment (student) occurs in cases where intellectual property is jointly shared, a negotiated, written letter of agreement will be executed with the University. The agreement shall be negotiated with the faculty/staff/student by the appropriate vice president and approved by the President, in accordance with federal, state and University policies, procedures, and regulations. The agreement shall establish separate ownership rights, stipulate the percentage of ownership between the faculty/staff/student and the University, and describe future uses of the intellectual property. To initiate an agreement: (a) the faculty/staff/student contacts his/her department/division chair or director in writing requesting separate joint ownership rights; (b) the chair or director notifies the appropriate vice president that a letter of agreement is required; and (c) the vice president and faculty/staff/student prepare and execute the letter of agreement.

In the event of a disagreement between the faculty/staff/student and the University, an appeal may be made to the Board of Trustees of the Institutions of Higher Learning, and their decision shall be final.

 

This policy shall be reviewed, as circumstances warrant, by the Faculty Senate, Staff Council, Student Government Association, and Academic Council. Possible revisions and amendments will be transmitted to the President for final approval.