Inventions, Patents, Copyrights, and Publishing

The University shall own each invention conceived in whole or in part during the course of any employment, research, or scholarship activity involving or relating to the use of University Resources. Inventors shall promptly in writing disclose and assign each Invention to the University and/or its designee, and shall not disclose any Invention to any third-party except as specifically authorized by the University or its designee. An Invention Record and Disclosure Form is available from the Office of Technology Commercialization or at the Web site, www.otc.purdue.edu, to facilitate reporting inventions.

The University permits authors to retain the copyright to Instructional Copyrightable Works and Scholarly Copyrightable Works. Excepting only Instructional Copyrightable Works and Scholarly Copyrightable Works, the University shall own the copyright to each Copyrightable Work conceived in whole or in part during the course of any employment, research, or scholarship activity involving or relating to the use of University Resources. Each author of a Copyrightable Work that is University-owned according to the above principle of University ownership and that may have potential commercial value shall promptly disclose the Copyrightable Work in writing to the University and/or its designee. Each Instructional or Scholarly Copyrightable Work shall be subject to a perpetual nonexclusive, royalty-free license from the author to the University to use, duplicate, and internally distribute the Instructional or Scholarly Copyrightable Work for any pedagogical, research, or educational purpose of the University, subject to attribution of original authorship.

The University owns all rights, title, and interest in Tangible Research Property and Research Data developed with support from University Resources.

As used above, the term “University Resources” means any support administered by or through Purdue University, Including but not limited to funds, facilities, equipment or personnel, and funds, facilities, equipment or personnel which are provided by governmental, commercial, Industrial, or other public or private organizations and administered or controlled by the University.

No creator of University Intellectual property has the capability or authority to assign, license or otherwise dispose of University Intellectual Property except to the University or its designee. University personnel engaged in Outside Activities shall have no authority to enter into an Intellectual Property agreement that conflicts with University policy on intellectual property.

It is the policy of Purdue University to encourage and recognize the creative efforts of University personnel and, in so far as the Board of Trustees of the University deems it consistent with the public interest, to share the financial rewards of such efforts on an equitable basis. In most instances, Net Proceeds from licensing University Intellectual Property will be distributed according to the following formula: a) two-thirds to the University, and b) one-third to University personnel who created the University Intellectual Property that gives rise to the Net Proceeds. In most instances, Net Proceeds distributed to the University shall, in turn, be distributed 50% to the department/administrative unit from which the underlying University Intellectual Property originated and 50% to the Trask Fund, which supports end-stage development and increases the utility to the public of University Intellectual Property.

Before publishing results from research or scholarly inquiry, including graduate and undergraduate research that has been conducted as a University project, whether funded by an external sponsor or not, the Principal Investigator must investigate thoroughly University contractual obligations involved and determine possible value as intellectual property to the University and its participating research partners. When in doubt, the Principal Investigator should consult with his or her department head, Sponsored Program Services, the Office of the Vice President for Research, and/or the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization.

Responsibility for administering the University policy on Intellectual Property is assigned to the Office of the Vice President for Research. For further details, consult University Policy VIII.4.1; Academic Procedure Manual, page N-184; or contact the Office of Research Administration, 49-46840, or the Office of Technology Commercialization, Purdue Research Foundation, 49-42610.