Intellectual Property Policy, All University

Certain terms used in this policy have specific meanings, as defined in this section. These definitions do not necessarily conform to customary usage.

Invention includes any new process, products, art, machine, method of manufacture, or composition of matter, Tangible Research Property, or any new hardware, firmware, or software technology or improvement thereof or know-how, trade secret, Copyrightable Work, or trademark, service mark, or trade name, and other rights in and to such invention as may be recognized by foreign jurisdictions where applicable.

University means the University of Kansas and all of its campuses.

Student means any full-time or part-time graduate or undergraduate student, regardless of whether the student receives financial aid from the university or from outside sources. It is the responsibility of students who are also employees of other outside entities to resolve any conflicts between this policy and provisions of agreements with their employers prior to beginning any undertaking at the university that will involve the development of intellectual property.  If a student is also a part-time university employee, the student is considered as staff with regard to intellectual property developed as a result of employment by the university, and as a student with regard to other intellectual property.

Faculty and Staff means members of the university's Faculty and Staff as defined in the relevant campus’s Faculty and Staff Handbook and/or policies, and includes instructors and special faculty appointments (even in the first year), part-time faculty, and part-time employees.  A full-time non-faculty employee who is also taking one or more courses is considered to be staff.

Visitors.  Ownership to intellectual property arising from substantial use of university resources by visitors to the university will be termed in accordance with agreements negotiated in advance of such use.  In the absence of such agreements, such intellectual property shall be owned by the university.

Creator means any person or persons who create an Invention or Copyrightable work.

Inventor means anyone who has made significant intellectual contribution to the conception and/or reduction to practice of a Patentable Invention, and who satisfies the applicable statutory requirements of inventorship.

Patentable Inventions means Inventions that appear to satisfy the statutory requirements for the issuance of a patent by the patent authority of a country

Copyrightable Works or Work means "original works of authorship" that have been fixed in any tangible medium of expression from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. These works include, but are not limited to the following:

• Literary works: books, pamphlets, computer programs, manuscripts, poems
• Musical works (including accompanying music)
• Dramatic works (including accompanying music)
• Pantomimes and choreographic works
• Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
• Motion pictures and other audio visual works
• Sound recordings
• Architectural works

Copyrightable Software means a subset of Copyrightable Works that include a computer program (including, without limitation, microcode, subroutines, and operating systems), regardless of form of expression or object in which it is embodied, together with any users’ manuals and other accompanying explanatory materials and any computer database, that is developed

Mediated Courseware means course materials that (1) enable instructors to rely exclusively or substantially on non-classroom contact hours for instruction, (2) make extensive use of technology, including but not limited to video conferencing, streaming media, and similar technologies and (3) potentially could permit students from other institutions to access courses offered by the University of Kansas upon payment of a specified fee. The phrase “mediated courseware” does not include course material prepared by an instructor that makes use of the Internet for delivery or presentation, unless all of the above criteria are met.

Invention Assignment Agreement means an agreement between all faculty and staff employees and the University executed as a condition of employment that provides an assignment of inventions made during employment to the university, with an exception for certain faculty consulting.

Invention Disclosure Form is a confidential document written by the Inventor(s)/Creators(s) for use by KUCTC in accessing an Invention’s IP and commercialization potential.  A complete disclosure form is signed, completely filled out, and contains a written description of the Invention that enables non-inventors to understand and practice the invention.

Invention Release Agreement means a contract between the University and inventor(s)/creator(s) concerning release of rights to a Patentable Invention or Copyrightable Software.

Substantial Use of University Resources or Substantial Use means that a Creator/Inventor receives substantial time and/or substantial resources specifically dedicated to the project.

Externally Sponsored Research means research or development at University of Kansas wherein the source of the funds is, in whole or in part, from the U.S. Federal Government or other third party.

Institutionally Sponsored Research means research or development at University of Kansas wherein the source of the funds is provided solely by the University of Kansas.

Bayh-Dole means U.S. legislation found at 35 U.S.C. §§ 200-212 pertaining to the reporting, ownership, patenting and licensing of Inventions made under U.S. Federal Government funding.

Tangible Research Property includes, but is not limited to, materials, computer software, computer databases, prototype devices or equipment, engineering designs or drawings, integrated computer chips, audiovisual works, antibodies, genetically modified animals, and cell lines.

Work Made for Hire shall be guided by the AAUP 1999 Statement on Copyright (AAUP Policy Documents & Reports, Tenth Edition, p.215, lines 15-21), and shall mean works created as a specific requirement of employment or as an assigned institutional duty that may, for example, be included in a written job description or an employment agreement, may be fairly deemed works made for hire. Even absent such prior written specification, ownership will vest in the University in those cases in which it provides the specific authorization or supervision for the preparation of the work. Examples are reports prepared by a dean or by the chair or members of a faculty committee, photographs taken by employees of the university’s public affairs office, or college promotional brochures prepared by a director of admissions.

Intellectual Property as used herein is broadly defined to include Inventions, Copyrightable Works, Trademarks and Service marks, and Tangible Research Property.