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		<title>Ownership of intellectual property</title>
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				current-module = "Intellectual Property"
				page-title = "Ownership of intellectual property"
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							<p>The fact that researchers create or invent intellectual property does not necessarily mean that they are the sole owners of that property. Academic staff or researchers generally work for employers and are funded by funding agencies. Students may be externally funded or self-funded. As a result, intellectual property is often the result of joint efforts between many individuals with different funding/IP ownership arrangements. These and other factors (such as university policies) have a bearing on who owns and can profit from intellectual property.</p>
							
							<h3>Ownership limitations</h3>
							
							<p>Although determining who owns a piece of intellectual property can be quite complex, there are a few points that every researcher should check when considering ownership:</p>
							
							<instructional-text><p>Click on each tab for information on the limitations that apply to the intellectual property. Each tab covers the limitations that might emerge from a different kind of research.</p></instructional-text>
							<accessible-text><p>Continue on for information on the limitations that apply to the intellectual property. Each section covers the limitations that might emerge from a different kind of research.</p></accessible-text>

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									<tab-heading><p>Research conducted at universities or institutions</p></tab-heading>
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										<p>Research institutions and universities have flexibility (within the law) to establish their own intellectual property policies. In general, self-funded students own their own IP, whereas employees share it with their employer or funder. However, there is no consistency across research institutions on:</p>
										<ul>
											<li>The intellectual property that must be reported &ndash; for example, policies on scholarly books, courses, and computer codes vary from institution to institution</li>
											<li>The role that research institutions will play in the development of inventions</li>
											<li>The sharing of royalties and licence fees</li>
											<li>What counts as work for the institution versus personal work</li>
											<li>The terms of ownership, even within an institution (i.e. it can even be different for different researchers, depending on contracts or funding arrangements).</li>
										</ul>
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									<tab-heading><p>Publicly funded research</p></tab-heading>
									<tab-content>
										<p>Intellectual property developed with government funding is generally owned by research institutions, not the government or individual researchers.</p>
										<p>As research became more important in universities over the course of the twentieth century, questions were raised about who should own the intellectual property generated by their researchers, particularly if the research was publicly funded.</p>
										<p>If your research is publicly funded:</p>
										<ul>
											<li>You are most likely obligated to inform your university or institution of any discovery or creative work that could be commercially developed</li>
											<li>Your university or institution probably has the first right to develop and profit from your intellectual property.</li>
										</ul>
										<p>At most research institutions, researchers can only claim and develop their intellectual property on their own if their institution has given up its ownership interest.</p>
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									<tab-heading><p>Research involving collaboration</p></tab-heading>
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										<p>Co-workers and students can claim ownership of ideas developed during collaborative projects and in classes. The ownership of intellectual property is sometimes clouded by different understandings of who developed an idea, as well as different understandings of the circumstances.</p>
										<p>Collaboration with students, particularly through teaching rather than a research project, can also change the rules for ownership. Some universities do not claim ownership of the ideas developed by students in classes, but others do.</p>
										<p>If your research has intellectual property potential, you should:</p>
										<ul>
											<li>Make sure you understand the local rules of ownership that apply to your work</li>
											<li>Have formal ownership agreements with the colleagues and students you share your ideas with</li>
											<li>If necessary, ask a patent attorney to help establish ownership.</li>
										</ul>
									</tab-content>
								</tab-item>
								<tab-item>
									<tab-heading><p>Contractual research</p></tab-heading>
									<tab-content>
										<p>If you are hired to do research for someone else, you probably cannot own the intellectual property resulting from your work and may not even be able to share the results with others without getting permission.  Your ownership and sharing rights could be limited by:</p>
										<ul>
											<li>The need to protect classified and propriety information</li>
											<li>Contractual agreements that prohibit personal ownership.</li>
										</ul>
										<p>If you are conducting research under contract, read your contract carefully and get advice when you have questions.</p>
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								<h4>Research conducted at universities or institutions</h4>
								<p>Research institutions and universities have flexibility (within the law) to establish their own intellectual property policies. In general, self-funded students own their own IP, whereas employees share it with their employer or funder. However, there is no consistency across research institutions on:</p>
								<ul>
									<li>The intellectual property that must be reported &ndash; for example, policies on scholarly books, courses, and computer codes vary from institution to institution</li>
									<li>The role that research institutions will play in the development of inventions</li>
									<li>The sharing of royalties and licence fees</li>
									<li>What counts as work for the institution versus personal work</li>
									<li>The terms of ownership, even within an institution (i.e. it can even be different for different researchers, depending on contracts or funding arrangements).</li>
								</ul>
								<hr>
								<h4>Publicly funded research</h4>
								<p>Intellectual property developed with government funding is generally owned by research institutions, not the government or individual researchers.</p>
								<p>As research became more important in universities over the course of the twentieth century, questions were raised about who should own the intellectual property generated by their researchers, particularly if the research was publicly funded.</p>
								<p>If your research is publicly funded:</p>
								<ul>
									<li>You are most likely obligated to inform your university or institution of any discovery or creative work that could be commercially developed</li>
									<li>Your university or institution probably has the first right to develop and profit from your intellectual property.</li>
								</ul>
								<p>At most research institutions, researchers can only claim and develop their intellectual property on their own if their institution has given up its ownership interest.</p>
								<hr>
								<h4>Research involving collaboration</h4>
								<p>Co-workers and students can claim ownership of ideas developed during collaborative projects and in classes. The ownership of intellectual property is sometimes clouded by different understandings of who developed an idea, as well as different understandings of the circumstances.</p>
								<p>Collaboration with students, particularly through teaching rather than a research project, can also change the rules for ownership. Some universities do not claim ownership of the ideas developed by students in classes, but others do.</p>
								<p>If your research has intellectual property potential, you should:</p>
								<ul>
									<li>Make sure you understand the local rules of ownership that apply to your work</li>
									<li>Have formal ownership agreements with the colleagues and students you share your ideas with</li>
									<li>If necessary, ask a patent attorney to help establish ownership.</li>
								</ul>
								<hr>
								<h4>Contractual research</h4>
								<p>If you are hired to do research for someone else, you probably cannot own the intellectual property resulting from your work and may not even be able to share the results with others without getting permission. Your ownership and sharing rights could be limited by:</p>
								<ul>
									<li>The need to protect classified and propriety information</li>
									<li>Contractual agreements that prohibit personal ownership.</li>
								</ul>
								<p>If you are conducting research under contract, read your contract carefully and get advice when you have questions.</p>
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							<p>Ownership disputes are not uncommon in research, particularly as the potential value of the intellectual property resulting from the research increases. Moreover, working on a project does not guarantee that you will have an ownership stake in any intellectual property that results from that project, even if you are the source of the ideas that led to the creation of the property.  For this reason and to avoid unpleasant disputes, it is important to address ownership issues early and openly.</p>
							
							<h3>Establishing ownership</h3>
							
							<p>When intellectual property is part of research, it is important to do things in the correct order to avoid compromising your intellectual property or unnecessarily slowing down the development of your research.</p>
							
							<instructional-text><p>Click through each step to learn about the process that needs to be followed to establish ownership.</p></instructional-text>
							<accessible-text><p>Continue on to learn about the steps that need to be followed to establish ownership.</p></accessible-text>
							
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								<ladder-step>
									<ladder-label>Report</ladder-label>
									<ladder-number>1</ladder-number>
									<ladder-feedback><p>Report your intellectual property to your university or institution as soon as it is recognised to allow careful and proper assessment of its worth. If your university is interested, it will probably appoint a patent attorney or other legal expert to help you determine the best course of action or strategy (for instance, there may be contractual obligations to funders that require consideration).</p></ladder-feedback>
								</ladder-step>
								<ladder-step>
									<ladder-label>Create/file</ladder-label>
									<ladder-number>2</ladder-number>
									<ladder-feedback><p>Create your copyright or file for a patent as soon as possible. It is important to properly establish ownership early to avoid losing it. If you share material that could be but has not been copyrighted, you risk compromising the protection that copyright provides. The same is true for patents. If you release information about patentable information before it is patented, others could use that information.</p></ladder-feedback>
								</ladder-step>
								<ladder-step>
									<ladder-label>Adhere to deadlines</ladder-label>
									<ladder-number>3</ladder-number>
									<ladder-feedback><p>Take note of deadlines and the time allowed by your funder or institution before results must be or can be made public. Ownership protection issues can interfere with your scholarly interests if, for example, your funder wants to delay releasing results to protect intellectual property.</p></ladder-feedback>
								</ladder-step>
								<ladder-step>
									<ladder-label>Remember policy differences</ladder-label>
									<ladder-number>4</ladder-number>
									<ladder-feedback><p>Keep in mind that procedures and timing can vary from country to country. This is particularly important for collaborative projects, where different rules might apply.</p></ladder-feedback>
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							<p>Improper disclosure can result in the loss of intellectual property; conversely, delays to a disclosure can get in the way of career development. Make sure you understand who owns your intellectual property and how it can be used. Seek advice from legal experts if you are unsure.</p>
							
							<h3>Summary</h3>
							
							<p>The benefits of owning intellectual property can be significant &ndash; for you, for those who invested in your research, and for anyone who will use it. Developing intellectual property can, however, come with some downsides:</p>
							
							<ul>
								<li>It can take away from your other research efforts</li>
								<li>It can strain relationships with colleagues, who may not have the same opportunities</li>
								<li>It restricts access to your ideas and can either establish or increase access costs.</li>
							</ul>
							
							<p>Nonetheless, it is now widely recognised that researchers should be able to protect and benefit from the intellectual property they create. To properly benefit from your work, you should make sure you understand and follow the basic rules and procedures set out in this module. If you have any questions that are not covered in this module, you should seek advice from others at your university or institution.</p>
							
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