Ohio Administrative Code
Title 3339 - Miami University
Chapter 3339-15 - Human Subjects for Research
Section 3339-15-06 - Intellectual property
Universal Citation: OH Admin Code 3339-15-06
Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) General
(1) In the course of research, teaching, and
service activities at Miami university, faculty, staff, and students sometimes
create intellectual property which may be protectable by copyright, patent, or
other means. Miami university seeks to establish an environment in which the
creation of intellectual property is suitably recognized as an academic
achievement and in which the benefits of intellectual property to the creators,
the university, and the general public are optimized.
(2) It is important that the university and
the creators of intellectual property assist each other in identifying,
evaluating, and protecting this property. The following policy outlines the
procedures for handling of intellectual property in ways which will be
beneficial to the creators, the university and the public, and also describes
the rights and responsibilities of the university and the creators of the
intellectual property.
(B) Copyrights
(1) The right of ownership by a faculty
member, staff member, or student to his or her own writings, productions, art,
videotapes, computer programs, or other works is recognized by the university.
Thus, the individual generally is vested with the copyright privilege and
receives all royalties which result.
(2) There are exceptions to this general
rule, however, and the university will claim ownership:
(a) If called for in an external grant or
contract, or specified in the terms of a gift, under which the copyrightable
material was produced.
(b) If the
faculty member, staff member, or student creates a copyrightable work in the
course of performing an explicit university assignment or commission to create
such a work.
(3)
Situations also may arise in which faculty, staff, or students wish to include
in copyrighted commercial products materials generated by Miami university
support services. In such cases, in return for unrestricted outside use of the
material, the university is entitled to seek reimbursement for development and
production costs. The amount of possible reimbursement shall be reasonable and
come from, and not exceed a portion of, royalties available to the faculty
member, staff member or student.
(4) Miami university wishes to facilitate the
use of computer-assisted teaching and on line classes in order to encourage
creative and cutting-edge technology usage in the university's educational
activities. To that end, the university acknowledges that faculty members that
create computing tools and on-line classes shall be sole owner of the copyright
to such classroom materials. The university shall not be able to use any such
classroom materials without the consent of the faculty member. However, it
shall be deemed a violation of rule
3339-3-11
of the Administrative Code for the faculty member to sell the classroom
materials to any other institution of higher education while the faculty member
is employed by Miami university unless the faculty member obtains the consent
required by rule
3339-3-11
of the Administrative Code. In the event that the faculty member is no longer
employed by the university, then the faculty member shall remove the classroom
materials from Miami university's computer resources.
(5) However, ownership of computing tools and
on-line classes is subject to the two exceptions to the general copyright rule
set forth above. In addition, if the faculty member utilizes significant
university resources in the creation of the classroom materials, then the
copyright shall be jointly owned by the faculty member and Miami university and
the following rules shall apply:
(a) Miami
university cannot utilize the classroom materials in any class at Miami
university while the faculty member is employed by Miami university without the
faculty member's permission;
(b) in
the event that the faculty member is no longer employed by Miami university,
the faculty member and Miami university, without the other's permission, shall
both be permitted a perpetual, royalty-free license to use the classroom
materials for teaching and research purposes only;
(c) Miami university has exclusive authority
to market and sell the classroom materials and their content to third parties,
but Miami university shall provide fifty percent of all net proceeds (i.e.,
gross revenue minus costs of sale) received from the sale of the classroom
materials to the faculty member. In the event that there is more than one
faculty member then it shall be up to the faculty members to determine their
individual portion of the fifty-percent share.
(6) For purposes of this rule, "significant
university resources" shall be defined to mean that the classroom materials
were developed with the use of any substantial Miami university-purchased
hardware/software (excluding standard personal computing software/hardware), or
if the classroom materials were developed during leave time granted by Miami
university specifically for the development of the classroom materials, or if
the classroom materials were developed with substantial assistance from Miami
university's information technology personnel.
(7) This rule is not intended to apply to
minor usage of computing technology in traditional classroom teaching (e.g.,
posting of a syllabus electronically would not transfer ownership to the
university.)
(8) Application of
this policy, including whether "significant university resources" have been
utilized, shall be determined by the provost following discussions with the
affected faculty member(s) and a sincere effort to find a mutually agreeable
determination. The provost may, at his or her discretion, appoint a committee
to review the matter and provide advice to him or her. Faculty members who
dispute a determination of the provost shall have the right of appeal to the
committee on faculty rights and responsibilities and the president.
(C) Patents
(1) General
(a) In accord with the section
3345.14
of the Revised Code, the university claims all rights to discoveries or
inventions, including associated patents, resulting from research or
investigation conducted in any facility of the university. The university also
has the rights to patentable discoveries or inventions resulting from re-search
or investigation financed in whole or in part by the university, or by an agent
outside the university under a contract with or grant to the
university.
(b) The Revised Code of
the state of Ohio permits the board of trustees to retain, assign, license,
transfer, sell, or otherwise dispose of rights to, interests in, and income
from any such discoveries, inventions, or patents to any individual, firm,
association, corporation, or governmental agency, or to any faculty member,
employee, or student of the university.
(c) It is the intent of the university not to
claim rights in an invention resulting from work not supported by the
university or its sponsors or to which the university's contribution is
negligible. Therefore, except as provided above, faculty, staff, and students
of the university are entitled to apply for, hold, and dispose of patents to
their own discoveries, inventions and developments free from any claim or
interest of the university.
(2) Patent -application procedure - general
(a) When an inventor associated with the
university believes an invention or discovery might be patentable, a written
disclosure of the invention or discovery should be submitted to the
vice president for research and innovation
. A standard
invention disclosure form is available from the office for the advancement of
research and scholarship. The written disclosure should bear the endorsement
and comments of the department chair or unit supervisor, and divisional dean or
vice president. It should include a statement of the circumstances under which
the invention was made, and a statement as to its commercial
possibilities.
(b) The
vice president for research and innovation
shall have
the responsibility to recommend to the provost and vice president for finance
and business services whether the securing of a patent is in the interest of
Miami university and in the public interest. In this evaluation, the associate
provost for research generally will consult with the university attorney and
individuals outside the university who are knowledgeable in the field of the
invention. If the invention or discovery has arisen under the sponsorship of
industry, the university's agreement with industry generally will include a
granting of some rights regarding licensing of resulting patents, as well as a
commitment by the sponsoring company to its funding of a patent application.
Thus, the associate provost for research necessarily will consult with the
sponsoring company in evaluating prospects for a patent in such
instances.
(c) The university also
may use the services of a patent evaluation and management firm, such as the
research corporation, to assist in the evaluation of invention disclosures, in
filing patent applications, and in marketing and managing subsequent patents,
unless the terms of an agreement with a sponsor of the research dictate
otherwise.
(3) Patent
application procedures for projects funded by external agencies
(a) If the research results from a project
sponsored by an outside agency through a grant or contract to the university,
the provisions of the grant or contract will prevail. Where such provisions
provide for retention of some or all patent rights with the university, the
same procedures will be followed with respect to the retained patent rights as
those provided for nonsponsored research. Disclosure of all such inventions
within the university should follow the same procedures described above as the
first step in complying with such patent terms in grants and
contracts.
(b) In the development
of agreements for research with corporations and other private groups,
accommodations should be made to recognize both the proprietary rights of the
corporation, and the obligation of the university to publish and disseminate
research in oral and written form. Where appropriate, such publications may be
delayed, but such delay should not be excessive. If a sponsor requires
exclusive rights to or interest in a discovery made under a grant or contract,
this request will need to be reported to and approved by the board of
trustees.
(c) The Miami university
proposal approval form will be used to secure university approval for patent
agreements with outside funding agencies at the time of acceptance of a
proposal. The office for the advancement of research and scholarship has the
responsibility of coordinating the proposal approval process for the
university, and facilitating discussions involving the investigator, the
department or division, the associate provost for research, and representatives
of the finance and business services division.
(d) Faculty, staff, and students may not
independently enter into agreements concerning Miami university patent rights
on inventions. Such agreements are appropriate only when the individual is
acting as an independent consultant to a public or private agency or
sponsor.
(4) University
decision as to patenting
(a) If, after
consultation, the vice president for research and
innovation
determines that it is in the best interests of the university
to file a patent application, he or she will recommend to the provost and the
vice president for finance and business services that a patent application be
filed. Depending upon the circumstances, the vice
president for research and innovation
may recommend that
the application be filed by the university itself, by the sponsoring company on
behalf of the university, or by a patent management firm such as research
corporation on behalf of the university.
(b) If, after consultation, the
vice president for research and innovation
determines
that it is not in the best interests of the university to file a patent
application, he or she will make that recommendation to the provost and the
vice president for finance and business services and also will inform the
inventor of that recommendation. The inventor may then request the university
to waive all or part of its rights in the invention to the inventor. The
university shall respond to such a request within a reasonable time period,
and, at its discretion, may waive all or part of its rights in the invention,
i.e., assign title or grant an exclusive or partially exclusive license to the
inventor. Grant of such a waiver by the university shall not be unreasonably
denied. Any such assignment shall be subject to the sponsor's rights or
approval. The university will retain rights and benefits which are in the best
interests of the university; as a minimum, these retained rights will include
an irrevocable, nonexclusive, paid-up license to practice the invention for the
university's purposes.
(c) The
associate provost for research through the provost and vice president for
finance and business services will recommend that the board of trustees take
appropriate action.
(5)
Sharing of royalties
(a) Miami university's
policy is to share royalties generated by patents with the faculty, staff, and
student creators of inventions according to the following model. Royalty
provisions of this policy apply to "net royalties" received by Miami university
from the patent. Net royalties are defined as gross royalties, minus the cost
incurred in obtaining the patent, the cost of utilizing a patent management
firm, and any litigation expenses.
(b) The net royalties totaling up to one
hundred thousand dollars first received will be divided equally between the
university and the inventors; for the second one hundred thousand dollars a
sixty per cent university, forty per cent inventor split will be utilized; for
the third one hundred thousand dollars a seventy per cent university, thirty
per cent inventor split; and for royalties in excess of three hundred thousand
dollars, an eighty per cent university, twenty per cent inventor split will be
utilized. If more than one inventor is involved, the university must receive in
writing a statement signed by all inventors agreeing how the share of the
royalties to be received by the inventors should be divided.
(c) Royalties accruing to the university
under this patent policy will be used by the university to support faculty
research and patent development.
(d) Acknowledgement: This policy is modeled
after the intellectual property policy developed by the university of New
Mexico, and borrows language from that policy with permission of the university
of New Mexico.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Ohio may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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