PURPOSE:

The purpose of the Intellectual Property Disclosure Form is to record intellectual property that was created and the circumstances under which it was created.  It provides the basis for a determination of patentability, for drafting a patent application, and or for registering a copyright.  This is a legally important document, which should be prepared carefully.

IP COMMITTEE:

The Intellectual Property Committee has the responsibility to evaluate Intellectual Property developed from Sponsor-Supported Efforts, and from University-Assigned Efforts, and to determine whether to administer such Intellectual Property by undertaking those efforts it determines, in its sole discretion, to be appropriate to protect and license or otherwise commercialize such Intellectual Property.

ORIGINATORS’ Responsibilities:

University personnel and students will promptly provide the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research Administration an Intellectual Property Disclosure Form describing their creative and scholarly works and new material, devices, processes, or other inventions which may have commercial potential, be it Sponsor Supported Efforts, University-Assigned Efforts, University Assisted Individual Effort or Individual Effort. University personnel and students are required to sign all papers deemed necessary to protect Intellectual Property.

NOTE:  It shall be the responsibility of University Personnel who are Originators to demonstrate to the Intellectual Property Committee that Intellectual Property made, discovered, or developed while employed at the University as a result of individual effort meets the criteria set forth in Section II.D. Individual Efforts.

NOTE: It is the responsibility of the Principal Investigators/Project Directors on sponsored projects to inform co-workers, including students, of their rights and obligations under contracts, grants, and the like before the initiation of research.

CONFIDENTIALITY

Governmental regulations and VSU policy require that Intellectual Property information be maintained in confidence.  Certain contractual obligations require for third party individual(s) to complete the Intellectual Property Confidentiality Agreement.  VSU personnel (students, faculty, and employees) are required to complete the Confidentiality/Non-Disclosure Agreement Form.  

INSTRUCTIONS:

An Intellectual Property Disclosure Form should be completed when something new and useful has been conceived or developed, or when unusual, or nonobvious research results have been achieved.

  1. A disclosure form describing the Intellectual Property is required to be submitted to the VSU IP Committee immediately upon the discovery and or development.

NOTE: Intellectual Property includes: patents, copyrights (intended for commercial exploit), trade secrets, trademarks, plant variety protection, and other rights.

  1. The disclosure form is required to be signed by the Developer(s), the Department Head, Dean and VSU IP Committee Chair.
  2. Disclosure forms are required to be completed in detail.
  3. Disclosure forms are required to be submitted and signed off on by the VSU IP Committee before any patents and or publications are submitted to the IP Committee for approval.

Patents are to be submitted to the VSU IP Committee along with the Disclosure Form (signed by all parties) for review and IP Committee approval before being submitted to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, usptoinfo@uspto.gov.

Publications for commercial exploit are to be submitted to the VSU IP Committee along with the Disclosure Form (signed by all parties) for review and IP Committee approval before being submitted for publishing.

NOTE: Disclosure forms are not required for articles being published in scholarly or professional journals or instructional or research material for internal use within the institution.

NOTE: Any patents of and or publications (publications intended for potential commercial exploit) that result from the discovery and or development are required to be approved by the VSU IP Committee before being submitted for approval or publication.