Copyright, Trademark, and Patent Ownership

An employee has the right to trademark or copyright any literary material and to patent any inventions created by the employee unless duties of the employment contract or program agreement charges the employee with or includes the duty of producing material for the institution to copyright or trademark, or to develop an invention for the institution to patent.

The employee shall be entitled to all profits earned from copyrighted or trademarked materials or patented inventions developed exclusively on the employee’s time and without the use of institutional funds, material, or facilities.

Copyrighted or trademarked material or patented inventions developed totally or partially on institutional time with the use of institutional materials or facilities or with institutional funding shall be owned by the institution (Board Policy 321.01, 04/13/16).