Professional staff ownership rights in intellectual
property may be modified by agreement or other factors.
Policy
3.26 also contains several provisions that may modify ownership
rights of professional staff in intellectual property. (Board
Policy 3.26, Part 4, Subpart B) For the most part, the modification
of ownership rights occurs when the parties involved enter into
an agreement before the intellectual property is even developed.
These agreements are helpful because they define roles and responsibilities
(such as who will provide funding, who will perform the work,
whose facilities will be used, deadlines for the completion
of work, etc.) as well as details relating to who ultimately
will own and control the work. The parties may agree to share
ownership, or one party may agree to own the work, but grant
the others the right to freely use the work in certain described
circumstances. The variations on these agreements are endless.
They provide a mechanism to consider and meet everyone's needs
and to define ownership interests from the start, thus avoiding
later disputes.
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