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Draft Date: April 10, 2015
Policy Title: Intellectual Property
Policy Summary: This policy defines the ownership, legal protection, development, and disposition of
intellectual property conceived for first reduced to practice by any College employee or student.
Policy Statement:
1. This Policy is comprised of both a Copyright Policy and a Patent Policy and defines the
ownership, legal protection, development and disposition of intellectual property conceived or
first reduced to practice by any College employee or student. This Policy does not change the
traditional relationship between the College and its employees and students who, independent
from using substantial College resources, retain broad rights of ownership of scholarly and
artistic works. This Policy does not address the use by the College, its faculty, administrators,
staff and students, of copyrightable materials owned by third parties, or circumstances under
which such use may constitute “fair use” under copyright law including 17 U.S.C. § 107.
2. This Policy applies to all students and employees of the College and any person using College
facilities under the supervision of College personnel, including, but not limited to, consultants,
non-employee visiting faculty and scholars1, College employees on paid sabbatical, and College
employees on paid leave of absence who partake in substantial use of College resources. The
College shall have no interest or ownership rights in discoveries or materials created by a
student solely for the purpose of satisfying course requirements, unless the student assigns
ownership rights to the College in writing or unless assignment of such ownership rights is made
a condition for participation in a course.
3. When a copyrighted work is also patentable, such as certain computer software source code,
the Patent Policy will apply.
4. Faculty who engage in outside employment or consulting activities shall inform the party for
whom the employment or consulting activities are to be performed of the College’s Intellectual
Property Policy, and of the faculty member’s obligations under this Policy.
5. Copyright Policy.
A. General Rights of Ownership: In the course of their activities at the College, faculty,
administrators, staff and students are continually creating copyrightable works. Current
copyright law provides that copyrightable works created by employees in the course of
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When visitors from other institutions participate in research and other activities at the
College, such participation might involve joint creation of intellectual property. While
consideration will be given to the intellectual property policies of the visitor’s home
institution, the obligations of visitors should be assessed and potential conflicts resolved
prior to the start of the visitor’s participation in such research or other activities.
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employment will be owned by their employers. Traditionally, colleges and universities have
declined to assert ownership over works of scholarship created by faculty in the course of
traditional academic activities. Therefore, the College assigns any ownership interest it has
in Traditional Works of Scholarship to the person or persons who create such works, and
such works shall be sole and exclusive property of the creator or author.
i.
The College retains the right to use Traditional Works of Scholarship for administrative
purposes, such as satisfying requests of accreditation agencies for faculty-authored
syllabi, assessments and course descriptions, and for use in the title or description of a
College course in College publications. Additionally, in the event that a faculty member
assigned to teach a course becomes unavailable to teach that course, the College shall
be permitted to use materials related to such course for the duration of the semester in
which the course was scheduled.
B. The College shall make no claim of ownership with respect to materials created by a faculty
member in the course of a disclosed and approved outside employment or consulting
engagement if (1) the materials were created without the use of College resources.
C. Traditional Works of Scholarship includes: syllabi and other original materials created for
use in a College course, books (including textbooks), class notes, classroom presentation and
instruction (regardless of the format of these materials or method in which they are
delivered), research proposals, articles, other forms of textual material (whether in printed
form or electronic media and including academic journals and professional resources),
software, works of art and other creative works including music, lyrics, compositions,
photographs, poetry, choreography, architectural works, sculpture, pictorial and graphic
works, motion pictures, and sound recordings, which are created as part of the regular
academic and scholarly activities of a person covered by the Policy.
i.
Exceptions: the College will retain ownership of copyrightable materials otherwise
considered Traditional Works of Scholarship in the following circumstances:
a. Where the production of such materials is part of a sponsored program;
b. Where the materials are created under the specifically assigned duties of
employees other than faculty;
c. Where Substantial College Resources were used in creating the materials;
d. Where the materials were specifically commissioned by College contract, or
done as part of an explicitly designated assignment made in writing, other
than normal faculty scholarly pursuits; and
e. Where the material is closely associated with a patent owned by the College
under the Patent Policy (this exception will typically apply to any
copyrightable material created to effectuate an invention, e.g. software, or
supplement an invention).
ii.
In cases where it is not clear whether or not these exceptions apply, authors are
encouraged to pursue a negotiated written agreement as discussed herein.
D. Substantial Use of College Resources means use of College resources that goes above and
beyond those that are customarily and currently provided to College employees. College
resources include all tangible resources provided by the College, including office, lab, and
studio space and equipment; computer hardware, software, and support; and staff support.
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Decisions about whether the use of these or similar resources is “substantial” or “customary
and current” shall be determined by the Provost in consultation with the relevant
department chair or supervisor in reference to the circumstances and practices within the
discipline. Substantial Use of College Resources generally does not include use of
telecommunications networks or computer hardware or software unless such use:
i. Requires special licensing agreements that are beyond the scope of those
provided to support College instructional or administrative activities;
ii. Interferes with instructional activities (for example, by overloading the campus
network resulting in diminished performance for other College users);
iii. Requires allocation of server space that is beyond the usual allocation for
an individual belonging to a given category of College user;
iv. Requires purchase of hardware or Software that exceeds the capabilities of that
which is normally provided to an individual belonging to a given category of
College user; or
v. requires licensing or outsourcing of specialized computer services (including the
services of "courseware" providers).
E. Sponsored Research: When the materials are created in the course of sponsored research
funded by an outside agency or organization pursuant to an agreement approved by the
College, ownership of materials will be determined by the applicable terms of the funding
agreement.
F. Distance Education Course Materials: include materials designed for use in a course in which
more than 50% of the instruction and interaction occurs via electronic transmission,
correspondence, or equivalent mechanisms, often utilizing electronically published course
materials, instruction delivered by internet telecommunication or other computer storage
media such as CD Rom or DVD, with faculty and students physically separated from each
other and for which the College has a compelling interest because of its obligation to deliver
advertised curricular programs and courses.
i.
Strategic judgments about distance course development or the development of
whole degree programs offered via distance education media are to be driven by
curricular needs identified and approved by appropriate faculty, department
chairpersons, and deans in consultation with the Provost and director of eLearning.
ii.
Prior to the development or offering of any distance education course at the
College, the author must execute a written agreement as set forth in Section G. This
requirement and any restrictions on the ownership and use of distance education
course materials are intended to involve the Provost and director of eLearning in
determining appropriate uses of such materials, to further effectuate the College’s
conflict of interest policies, and appropriate use of the College’s name, and to
protect against infringement claims.
iii.
Responsibilities of Authors: Individuals who create distance education courses as
set forth in this Policy shall agree to (1) revise the work as necessary to meet or
exceed the Principles of Good Practice for Distance Education Courses, as outlined in
the College’s Distance Education Handbook; (2) submit to an initial and periodic
review of the work by the appropriate department chair and the director of
eLearning; (3) update, edit, and revise course materials as necessary to keep course
materials current; (4) warrant that they are the sole owners of the contributions to
the work or that the contributions do not infringe on any copyright, violate any
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iv.
v.
property rights, or contain any unlawful materials; (5) inform the College in advance
of uses, reproductions, distributions and dispositions of the materials; and (6) abide
by all applicable College policies, the Faculty Handbook, and state and federal laws.
Right of Authors: Individuals who create distance education course materials as set
forth in this Policy shall maintain the right to (1) make derivative works that do not
compete or significantly conflict with the academic or financial interests of the
College; (2) be identified as the author of the materials, including the right to decide
whether to allow the author’s name to be displayed in association with the
materials; and (3) use the materials for teaching, scholarship, research and service.
The College shall make no claim of ownership in distance education course materials
created without Substantial Use of College Resources that are not the subject of a
sponsored research agreement or specifically commissioned College contract.
vi.
Authors of distance education course materials created with Substantial Use of
College Resources including access to and use of specialized staff, facilities and
equipment beyond that ordinarily provided, and materials created with the use of
direct grants, additional compensation, or release time for course development
shall grant to the College a non-exclusive license to use and market the materials as
part of the College’s course delivery. The College will have the right to create
derivative works based on the materials, assign use of the materials in the course or
course components of another, and assign revisions and teaching of course
materials to another faculty member if the author refuses to revise the materials in
according to recommendations made during a review process.
vii.
If condition F.vi. above is met, then upon the author’s separation from the College,
the College shall retain its non-exclusive license to use, update, and market the
materials. The author shall retain the right to use and market the materials
provided the College’s name or log is not used in connection with the materials.
viii.
Distance education course materials created at the instigation of the College
pursuant to a specifically commissioned College contract will be owned by the
College and the College shall have an exclusive right to use and market the
materials.
G. Disclosure Requirement: Any person formally affiliated with the College shall report to their
direct supervisor in a timely manner any effort to create materials that might fall within the
exceptions set forth in III.B, including any materials which made Substantial Use of College
resources.
H. Written Agreement Required: Negotiated written agreements are required under the
following circumstances: (1) when materials were created with “Substantial Use of College
Resources” (It is the responsibility of the author to seek clarification of whether the
resources being used in the development of traditional works of scholarship constitutes
“Substantial Use of College Resources”); (2) when more than one party is responsible for
creating materials; and (3) when the materials are for use in a distance education course as
set forth above. Negotiated written agreements shall address:
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i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
I.
6.
The rights of the author(s) and the College to use, distribute, market, and sell the
materials;
The division of revenues between the College and the author(s);
The rights of the College to use, distribute, market and to modify the materials
during and after the period of formal association with the College; and
The rights of the author(s), the College, and/or external funding parties to be
acknowledged or to withhold acknowledgement in the distribution or modification
of the materials by the College.
Administration: This Policy will be administered by the Provost, who may delegated his/her
duties to such other officers or employees of the College as appropriate.
Patent Policy.
A. General Rights of Ownership. In the course of teaching, professional development and
other intellectual and administrative activity at the College, faculty, staff, students, and
others may make discoveries or inventions. This patent Policy establishes the procedure
to be followed in the administration of inventions which result from teaching,
professional development, and other intellectual activity performed under College
auspices. Unless the terms of a sponsored research agreement or other contractual
agreement provide otherwise, the College will own any discoveries or inventions
conceived or first reduced to practice in the course of College employment or with use
of College resources, facilities or personnel, as well as all related tangible research
property including, but not limited to, models, devices, designs, avatars, computer
software, storage media, text, chemical compounds and compositions, formulations,
plant varieties, laboratory notebooks, clinical information, records and data related to
discoveries. The College shall make no claim to an invention or discovery made by a
faculty member in the course of a disclosed and approved outside employment or
consulting engagement if (1) the invention or discovery resulted from work on a
problem or topic proposed by the entity to which the faculty member is consulting and
on which the faculty member has not engaged in research at the College and (2) the
invention or discovery was conceived and first reduced to practice without the use of
College resources, facilities or personnel.
B. Disclosure and Assignment Requirements: In order to ensure that the College is fully
informed of inventions and discoveries, able to make a proper determination of
inventorship and ownership, and able to fulfill reporting obligations to governmental
and other research sponsors, all persons subject to this Policy shall promptly notify and
fully disclose to the College all inventions and discoveries resulting from various
activities conducted wholly or in part at the College or under College auspices. Because
patent rights may be lost if information describing an invention has been published prior
to filing of a patent application, notice and disclosure of an invention or discovery
should be made to the Provost’s Office at least two (2) months prior to any public
disclosure (including but not limited to disclosures required in connection with
sponsored research requirements, and any proposed publication or presentation, such
as at academic conferences). Inventors must complete an Invention Disclosure Form,
which is available from the Provost’s Office. Discoveries and inventions shall not be
disclosed without the express written consent of the Provost or his/her designee. If an
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inventor is uncertain whether the College has ownership rights in an invention, the
invention shall be disclosed to the College. The College acknowledges the rights of
inventors to take reasonable precautions to assure the confidentiality and physical
security of formulas, methods, processes, patterns, compute code, devices,
compositions of matter or other tangible research property. To protect and preserve the
intellectual property rights set forth in this policy and to comply with federal
regulations, authors and inventors shall execute assignments and other appropriate
documents as may be requested by the College to perfect the College’s ownership
rights, and shall cooperate with the College as reasonably requested in support of
efforts to secure, market and transfer College intellectual property. The College will
have 6 months to start the patent process or release invention rights.
C. Commercialization of Inventions and Discoveries: The College has a right to apply for
patent protection or otherwise protect and market the inventions and discoveries it
owns. However, the College is not obligated to protect, enter into licensing
arrangements, or commercialize any invention or discovery unless it has made an
explicit contractual commitment to do so. If the College decides that it does not wish,
and/or has no obligation to participate in patenting or licensing an invention, the
College may release its interest in the invention to the inventor. In such cases the
College may elect to retain an irrevocable royalty-free license to use the invention for
education, research and other non-commercial purposes.
Income earned from the sale, licensing, or other transfer of intellectual property of the
College shall be received solely by the College and shall be distributed as follows: (1)
reimbursement of all direct expenses related to prosecuting and maintaining the
intellectual property protection and securing licenses, including fees for legal counsel or
other experts, if required; (2) of the remainder, 50% to the inventor or inventors and
50% to the College.
If there is more than one inventor, distribution shall be prorated according to the
contribution of each as may be agreed in writing between the parties. Royalty income is
payable to the inventor upon actual receipt by the College.
If administrative/professional or classified staff make commercially valuable discoveries
or inventions in the course of carrying out their assigned duties (e.g. the employee
received a salary or wage for the purpose of developing the discovery or invention),
there is not presumption that the College will share any resulting net revenue as set
forth above.
D. Administration: This Policy will be administered by the Provost, who may delegate
his/her duties to such other officers or employees of the College as appropriate. At his
or her discretion, the Provost may convene an Intellectual Property Advisory Committee
(elected by the faculty), which shall be comprised of at least five members including one
individual from Finance and Administration, and one faculty member from each School
at the College. The Committee shall serve at the pleasure of the Provost, who shall
appoint a Chair. The Committee shall make recommendations to the Provost
concerning: (1) the interpretation of terms in this Policy, (2) recommending changes or
exceptions, (3) disputes related to intellectual property; and (4) the College’s ownership
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of particular works of intellectual property. Decisions of the Provost shall be final,
except for disputes arising under (4), either the College or the inventor may request that
the final decision be rendered by a neutral, third-party arbitrator, chosen with the
consent of both parties. In such cases, the parties shall split the cost of arbitration.
Reason for Policy:
Teaching, scholarship and service are fundamental missions of Fort Lewis College (“College”). In the
course of teaching, professional development and other intellectual and administrative activities at the
College, faculty, staff, students and others may create materials, or make discoveries or inventions that
are entitled to legal protection as intellectual property. Encouraging and supporting the creation of
intellectual property is in the public interest and is consistent with the advancement and dissemination
of knowledge and other well-established academic values including academic freedom, the promotion
of excellence and innovation, support of the ability of faculty to publish, share information and
collaborate in research activities, and support of students in full participation in these and other
educational activities.
Appendix A – Invention Disclosure Form
This form is used to report an initial discovery or invention made by faculty members, fellows, and staff
members (including student employees), by anyone using College facilities, or by anyone collaborating
with any of the above individuals (“Inventors”).
I. INVENTOR INFORMATION
Please enter the name of all Inventors and sign where indicated.
Corresponding Inventor (Primary Point of Contact)
Name:______________________________
Telephone:__________________________
Department:_________________________
Inventor contribution (%):_______________
Home Address: ______________________
______________________
Signature:___________________________
Title:____________________________
E-mail:__________________________
Campus Address:__________________
Personal e-mail: __________________
Country of
Citizenship: ______________________
Date:___________
Inventor Affiliation:____________________
Name:_____________________________
Telephone:__________________________
Department:_________________________
Inventor contribution (%):_______________
Home Address: ______________________
______________________
Signature:___________________________
Title:____________________________
E-mail:__________________________
Campus Address:__________________
Personal e-mail: __________________
Country of
Citizenship: ______________________
Date:___________
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Inventor Affiliation:___________________
Name:_____________________________
Title:____________________________
Telephone:__________________________
E-mail:__________________________
Department:_________________________
Campus Address:__________________
Inventor contribution (%):______________
Personal e-mail: __________________
Home Address: ______________________
Country of
_____________________ Citizenship: ______________________
Signature:__________________________
Date:___________
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II. INVENTION
Inventions include new processes, products, apparatus, compositions of matter, living organisms, or
improvements to existing technology in those categories.
A.
Invention title: (The title should be broad and non-confidential, i.e. what you can do, not how to
do it.)
B.
Please briefly describe the invention: (If you have a manuscript, PowerPoint or other
presentation, poster or abstract please attach it to this form.)
C.
Has the invention been disclosed publicly or offered for sale? (Disclosure includes a poster or
other public presentation, publication in a journal, thesis, or book, email dissemination,
internet/website publication or display, and conversation outside of the College not protected by
confidentiality.) If so, when, where, and to whom?
D.
Is there a planned date of disclosure, publication, display or sale?
E.
What is the source of funds supporting this research (grant number)?
F.
Is a third party involved in this research, such as through a sponsored research agreement,
consulting or option agreement?
G.
Is this research a collaboration with investigators at another institution or company?
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APPENDIX B – PATENT AGREEMENT
I have read and understand the College’s Intellectual Patent Policy. As a condition and in consideration
of the following, as applicable:
(1)
my participation in sponsored research at the College;
(2)
my employment at the School of _____________;
(3)
my status as a visiting researcher at the College; and/or
(4)
opportunities made or to be made available to me to make substantial use of College
administered funds, resources and facilities.
I agree to be bound by all provisions of the Patent Policy and I:
A.
hereby agree to assign and do assign to the College all of my right, title and interest in any
invention or discovery, developed in the course of my employment by the College or in connection with
my participation in research or related activities at the College, which I am obligated to assign to the
College under the terms of the Patent Policy;
B.
agree to execute such documents and take such further action as may be requested by the
College to further implement the Patent Policy or this agreement; and
C.
agree to disclose to the Office of the Provost, promptly after discovery, any invention developed
in the course of my employment by the College, or in connection with my participation in research or
related activities at the College.
Further, if I am a director or principal investigator of a sponsored project, I agree to secure signatures to
the Patent Agreement from all research personnel, including students working on the project, at the
time of their appointment and file the signatures with the Office of the Provost.
Name: _____________________________
Signature:___________________________
Date:___________