So I’m working on some software as part of my PhD and I started wondering… does the university automatically own it if they fund my research? Or do I have some rights over it? I’ve heard different things, so I’d love to hear from anyone who’s been through this!
Depends on the university. A lot of them claim ownership if they provide funding or resources, but some give students partial rights.
Nicol said:
Depends on the university. A lot of them claim ownership if they provide funding or resources, but some give students partial rights.
Interesting. What if I funded part of it myself? Would that change anything?
Nicol said:
Depends on the university. A lot of them claim ownership if they provide funding or resources, but some give students partial rights.
It might, but universities usually argue that if you used their resources (computers, labs, software licenses, etc.), they have some claim over it.
I ran into this issue before. My school had a policy where if you use any university resources, they own a portion of it. Had to negotiate to get some control over my project.
Fane said:
I ran into this issue before. My school had a policy where if you use any university resources, they own a portion of it. Had to negotiate to get some control over my project.
Did you get full ownership or just partial rights?
Fane said:
I ran into this issue before. My school had a policy where if you use any university resources, they own a portion of it. Had to negotiate to get some control over my project.
Just partial. The school took a percentage if I ever made money from it. Annoying, but better than them taking all of it.
Wait, what exactly does ‘intellectual property’ mean here? Just patents, or does it include other stuff too?
Kimberly said:
Wait, what exactly does ‘intellectual property’ mean here? Just patents, or does it include other stuff too?
IP covers patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets. For software, it’s usually about patents (if it’s innovative) and copyrights (for the code itself).
Kimberly said:
Wait, what exactly does ‘intellectual property’ mean here? Just patents, or does it include other stuff too?
And if your university helps you file a patent, they might take control of it under their policies.
You should check out the Bayh-Dole Act if your research is federally funded. It impacts how universities handle IP rights for inventions made with government grants.
Sky said:
You should check out the Bayh-Dole Act if your research is federally funded. It impacts how universities handle IP rights for inventions made with government grants.
Oh, I totally forgot about that! Definitely going to look it up, thanks!