INDIANA UNIVERSITY
INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY POLICY
WHO AND WHAT OF THE INTELLECTUAL
PROPERT Y POLICY
 Who is covered under the Policy?
 Employees, full or part time
 Persons with a University appointment
 Whether or not these persons receive compensation
 Students, full or part time
 All other persons creating Intellectual Property using University
resources
 What is covered under the Policy? All I ntellectual Property
created with University resources in whole OR in par t.
 “University resources” is not exclusive to money and includes time,
equipment, personnel, facilities, etc.
CATEGORIES OF INTELLECTUAL
PROPERT Y
 The two main categories of Intellectual Property
under the Policy are:
1) Patentable Intellectual Property
and
2) Copyrightable Works
CATEGORIES OF INTELLECTUAL
PROPERT Y
 Trademarks are addressed by a separate policy, which can be
located at:
http://policies.iu.edu/policies/categories/financial/licensing trademarks/FIN-LT-licensing-and-trademark-policy.shtml
 Questions regarding trademarks should be sent to Val Gill, Director of
Licensing and Trademarks, vkgill@iu.edu.
WHAT IS PATENTABLE INTELLECTUAL
PROPERT Y?
 “‘Patentable Intellectual
Property’ describes
inventions, discoveries,
and manufacturing
designs that have been
conceived or first actually
reduced to practice, and
are novel, useful, and
non-obvious, and
therefore likely to be
subject to protection
under United States
patent law.”
 Examples: chemical
compound, drug, machine
PROCESS FOR PATENTABLE WORKS
 When a patentable invention is developed, the creator notifies IURTC
(Indiana Univer sity Research and Technology Corp .). IURTC has forms
for this: http://iur tc.iu.edu/process/tech -comm/disclosure.shtml.
 IURTC is the organization assigned to hold and manage the University's
Intellectual Property.
 IURTC will then determine whether or not the University would like to
seek patent protection and will notify the creator within 60 days.
Evaluations are conducted by subject matter exper ts, and they consider
factors such as:
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If comparable technologies are already on the market
How this discovery compares to those technologies
Whether the discovery may require a patent or copyright
The time and investment that will be needed to bring the discovery to market
The size and growth potential of market demand for this technology
PROCESS FOR PATENTABLE WORKS
 Once someone develops an invention subject to this Policy (with
University resources), they assign their right, title, and interest in the
invention to the University. And so…
 “The University owns and shall have the sole right to determine the
disposition of Patentable Intellectual Property under this Policy,
including decisions concerning patent licensing and sale.”
If the work is patented and
has commercial application,
the creator will share in the
distribution of revenues based on
the schedule in the Intellectual
Property Policy.
WHAT IS COPYRIGHTABLE INTELLECTUAL
PROPERT Y?
 “‘Copyrightable Intellectual Property’ describes original works
of authorship that have been fixed in a tangible medium of
expression, including books, articles,
music, software, traditional or electronic
correspondence, and instructional materials
(including Online Instructional Materials), that
are likely to be subject to protection under United
States copyright law.”
 IU’s Intellectual Property Policy divides the larger category of
Copyrightable Intellectual Property into two sub -categories:
 Traditional Works of Scholarship and
 University Works
TRADITIONAL WORKS OF SCHOLARSHIP
Traditional Works of Scholarship refers to
scholarly and creative works, regardless
of form, that have been created by
academic appointees or students, and
are:
 Not Patentable IP,
 Not works that have been
the subject of Exceptional
University Support, and
 Not works that have been the
subject of external grants or contracts
TRADITIONAL WORKS OF SCHOLARSHIP
 Examples include:
 Scholarly publications
and journal articles
 Books
 Poems and works of
music or art
 Instructional material
such as syllabi,
assignments, and tests
 Play scripts and
theatrical productions
 Research bulletins
 Monographs
 Non-patentable software
ALLOCATION OF RIGHTS FOR TRADITIONAL
WORKS OF SCHOLARSHIP
 “The University shall assert no claims to copyright ownership
in or to distribution of revenue from Traditional Works of
Scholarship.”
 However, the University may use Traditional Works of
Scholarship that have been created for ordinary classroom
and program use for administrative purposes, which can
include:
 Course equivalency exams (i.e. assessing transfers),
 Accreditation review; and
 “Other functions that allow the University to
fulfill its responsibilities for accountability.”
 In the case of Online Instructional Materials, if the creator
leaves the University, IU retains a non-exclusive, royalty -free,
worldwide, unlimited license to use and revise the content for
online instruction.
TRADITIONAL WORKS OF SCHOLARSHIP
 An important take-away: THE CREATOR HOLDS THE COPYRIGHT
 This means that the creator – and not IU legal counsel– is
responsible for defending and monitoring copyright status, making all
necessary filing to protect the work, and negotiating agreements
relating to the work (e.g. copyright permissions and licensing).
WHAT ARE UNIVERSIT Y WORKS?
 There are four categories of
University Works.
 #1: Copyrightable
Intellectual Property that has
been specifically
commissioned by a
University office, and, except
as expressly provided
otherwise in writing, includes
recordings of performances,
presentations, talks, or other
educational or
extracurricular activities of
University students, faculty,
staff, visitors, and/or third
parties, that are made by or
at the request of the
University.
WHAT ARE UNIVERSIT Y WORKS?
 #2: Copyrightable
Intellectual Property
created by nonacademic appointee
employees (i.e., staff).
 #3: Copyrightable
Intellectual Property
developed through
external funding (e.g.,
grants) – but note, the
funding agreement
supersedes this Policy.
WHAT ARE UNIVERSIT Y WORKS?
EXCEPTIONAL UNIVERSIT Y SUPPORT
 #4: Copyrightable Intellectual Proper ty developed with Exceptional
University Suppor t.
 What is Exceptional Univer sity Suppor t?
 Financial or other support for research and teaching activities that
exceeds the norm for faculty or student teaching or research in that
field or department. This will often depend on the circumstances .
 In the case of Online Instructional Materials, this includes designated
technical assistance in developing an online course (e.g. audio -visual
department personnel or a graduate assistant); purchase of
specialized software, hardware, or third party services for a
specific project; and special release of student or
faculty responsibilities to allow time for the
project to be developed.
Again, this all must EXCEED the norm for
traditional courses.
EXCEPTIONAL UNIVERSIT Y SUPPORT
 Another important take-away: In all instances of Exceptional
University Support, a written agreement must be signed
between the University and the creator making explicit the
work’s status as having received E xceptional University
Support (and therefore being a University Work).
EXCEPTIONAL UNIVERSIT Y SUPPORT
What Exceptional University Suppor t is NOT:
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Ordinary library services
Sabbatical funding
Ordinary clerical or administrative support
Use of office or lab supplies and equipment
Funding for endowed chairs
The award of competitive internal research or teaching grants
Merely assigning a faculty member to teach a course that uses instructional
materials that are provided to students electronically
 For Online Instructional Materials, Exceptional University Suppor t is NOT:
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Basic instructions on web composing and the online instructional process
Occasional troubleshooting and use of University servers and software
Ordinary use of University servers and software platforms
Consultation with relevant University offices with respect to creator’s rights under
the IU Intellectual Property Policy
PROCESS FOR UNIVERSIT Y WORKS
 The division of the University that has commissioned or provided
Exceptional University Support for the work must notify IURTC and give
IURTC its opinion about the commercial potential of the work.
 As with patents, IURTC will determine whether or not to take up the
work.
 If IURTC declines, the division of the University may instead manage (but not
own) the copyright in consultation with the Office of the Vice President and
General Counsel.
 “The University owns and retains
all right to use and commercialize
University Works.”
 Much like with patents, the creator assigns
his or her right, title, and interest in the work
to the University.
ROLE OF IU GENERAL COUNSEL
 Copyright questions regarding University Works shouldbe sent
to the Of fice of the Vice President and General Counsel, and
copyright will be held by The Trustees of Indiana University , as
opposed to individual authors.
 “The Of fice of the Vice President and General Counsel is the
only source of legal advice within the University and shall only
provide legal advice to the University, nor to individual
authors with respect to work in which they own the copyright .”
ALLOCATION OF RIGHTS FOR
UNIVERSIT Y WORKS
 Regarding the revision of University Works: IU agrees to
respect the rights of the author(s), either withdrawal or revise
works that have become obsolete, consult with creators no
longer employed at IU regarding proposed revisions, provide
authors the first of fer to create any desired revisions, and
provide all creators the opportunity to request withdraw or
revision of their authored Works for academic integrity
purposes.
 IU will acknowledge those who have made a
substantial contribution to a University Work,
unless otherwise preferred by the contributor.
 University bears responsibility for defending
and protecting these works.
 However, authors do have the ability to request the University take
legal action if the work is being infringed upon.
OTHER ASPECTS OF THE INTELLECTUAL
PROPERT Y POLICY
 Dispute resolution is handled by the Intellectual Property
Council. In general, a creator has 30 days to challenge a
decision of IURTC or the University, and a return decision is
expected back in another 30 days. The Creator or the Council
can appeal up to the President, whose decision is final.
 More details about and functioning and makeup of the Council can be
found in the Intellectual Property Policy.
 The details of the revenue sharing provisions have not been
included here for the sake of brevity. The full provisions can
also be found in the Intellectual Property Policy.
 Although the Intellectual Property Policy described here is the
of ficial and default Policy of the University, exceptions can be
made by written agreement with the consent of the President.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
 University Works: Jennifer Westerhaus Adams, Associate General
Counsel
 jeweadam@iu.edu
 Traditional Works of Scholarship: Naz Pantaloni,
Copyright Program Librarian
 nazapant@indiana.edu
 IURTC and Patentable Intellectual Property: Bill
Brizzard, Director of Technology Commercialization
 bbrizzar@iu.edu
The full Intellectual Property Policy is
available here:
http://policies.iu.edu/policies/categories/administration operations/intellectual -property/intellectual -property.shtml