Who owns intellectual property created in a university laboratory?
Ownership of intellectual property created in a university laboratory depends on the type of IP, who actually created it, university policies, employment terms, and research-funding or collaboration agreements. The laboratory or supervising professor does not automatically own it. An invention made by a university-employed researcher may be assigned to the university, while a student may sometimes retain rights. Jointly created IP may also be jointly owned.
Key points
- Rights may belong, under applicable rules or agreements, to the inventor or author, the university, or a corporate or research partner.
- For students, employment status, funding, collaboration, confidentiality, and assignment agreements can affect ownership.
- Before filing a patent or publicly disclosing results, it is important to consult the university’s intellectual-property office.
Things to check
- The outcome varies by country, university, faculty or program, academic year, and individual agreement, so the institution’s official IP policy and applicable contracts should be checked.