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11.3 Ownership of Student-Created Intellectual Property

11.3 Ownership of Student-Created Intellectual Property

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This online version is for convenience; the official version of this policy is housed in the University Secretariat. In case of discrepancy between the online version and the official version held by the Secretariat, the official version shall prevail.

Approved By: Senate

Original Approval Date: December 1, 1994

Date of Most Recent Review/Revision: May 22, 2019

Office of Accountability: Vice-President: Research

Administrative Responsibility: Office of Research Services

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to:

1.01 Set out the rights of ownership, including joint ownership, to Intellectual Property (IP) created by Students while attending the University.

Principle

2.01 All contributions to a scholarly work should receive appropriate recognition and attribution for that contribution. Recognition may be through authorship, co-authorship, inventorship, co-inventorship citation, or an acknowledgement, depending on the type of contribution and the prevailing or professional practices within the scholar’s field.

2.02 The principles guiding IP rights are informed by:

i) Canadian law including, but not limited to, the Patent Act, and the Copyright Act, and relevant case law;

ii) The conventions of a specific discipline; and

iii) Laurier policies and collective agreements.

Jurisdiction / Scope

3.01 This policy applies to University Students and former students who created Intellectual Property while a Student at Laurier.

Definitions

4.01 Intellectual Property: Property created through significant intellectual or creative activity, created in a scholarly, professional, or student capacity, that can be owned by a person. This is a broad concept that includes:

i) Patents, for inventions and the creation of new kinds of technology, including Plant Breeders’ rights;

ii) Copyrights, for literary, artistic, dramatic and musical works;

iii) Trademarks, for words, symbols, or pictures used to distinguish the goods or services of one person from those of another;

iv) Industrial Designs, for visual features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornamentation of an industrially-produced object; and

v) Industrial Circuit Topographies, for three-dimensional configurations of electronic circuits embodied in integrated circuit products or layout designs.

vi) IP created under this policy includes, but is not limited to, works such as theses, dissertations, cognate essays, research papers, books, poems, plays, scripts, essays, articles, dictionaries, maps, lyrics, musical scores, sculptures, paintings, photographs, films, videos, tapes, computer software, databases, unique names, digital and analogue audio recordings, and inventions of new kinds of technology.

4.02 Author: A person involved in the writing of a material that is eligible for copyright protection, to which they contributed significantly, including but not limited to co-Authors.

4.03 Inventor: A person involved in the development of an invention that is eligible for patent protection, to which they contributed significant and original thought, including but not limited to co-Inventors.

4.04 Owner: A person or entity that has a legal proprietary interest in the IP, including but not limited to co-owners.

4.05 Student: An individual registered in a course of study as a student at the University, either full-time or part-time, pursuing undergraduate, graduate, or non-degree certificate programs.

Policy

Ownership of Student-Created Intellectual Property

5.01 Unless otherwise provided for under this policy, or through an agreement, Students own the IP they create in their role as Students.

5.02 Students who create IP that is eligible for protection and submit it as work to the university in fulfilment of a requirement of an academic program (degree or non-degree) solely own the IP. This includes data sets, exams, tests, computer software, cases, projects, theses, dissertations, lab reports, cognate essays, research papers, musical scores, plays, lyrics, art work, poems, or video recordings.

5.03 Students who create IP that is eligible for protection with another Student or a group of Students and submit it as work to the University in fulfilment of a requirement of an academic program (degree or non-degree), jointly own the IP with all other Students who made a significant intellectual or creative contribution to the IP creation. No Student enjoys sole ownership of IP created with the significant intellectual or creative input of other Students.

5.04 Subject to section 5.05, Students who create IP that is eligible for protection in the course of employment by the University (including Teaching Assistants, Supplemental Instructors, or Research Assistants) do not own the IP. Subject to applicable collective agreements or where there is an agreement that stipulates otherwise, the University owns the IP created by employees in the course of their employment.

5.05 Where a Student’s employment is directly related to their academic program or tied to funding received as a Student, the Student may own part or all of IP created by the Student that is eligible for protection.

5.06 Students who make a significant intellectual or creative input to the creation of IP with a full-time faculty member or part-time contract teaching faculty may share ownership of IP and should have any ownership interest in the IP addressed through an agreement.

5.07 Students who create IP that is eligible for protection through the use of significant University resources which exceed the ordinary resources available to a Student, jointly own the IP with the University. Ownership interest in the IP should be addressed in an agreement that will be administered by the University.

Dispute Resolution

6.01 Disputes may occur where multiple individuals collaborated in the creation of the IP, where a Student created IP through the use of significant University resources, or in the implementation of an agreement on ownership of IP, particularly where an Owner wishes to publish or commercialize the IP. Disputes over ownership, in whole or in part, of Student-created IP, should be dealt with promptly, in accordance with the following process:

i) All parties who contributed to the creation of the work, including faculty members, students, former students, or Postdoctoral Fellows should meet to discuss the situation and attempt to informally resolve the matter. Support for the informal resolution step is available from the office of the Dean of the academic faculty for undergraduate Students and Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for graduate Students and Postdoctoral Fellows.

ii) If the parties involved are not able to informally resolve the dispute to the satisfaction of all participants claiming ownership to the IP, the Student claiming IP ownership should submit the concerns, in writing, with documentation relating to the creation of the IP, to the Vice-President, Research.

iii) The Vice-President, Research, or designate in the Office of Research Services, will follow up with all participants claiming ownership in the Student-created IP to gather information and make recommendations on ownership of the IP to resolve the dispute.

iv) Allegations involving research or academic misconduct or where there is a recommendation that the University take disciplinary action against an employee or Student should be addressed under applicable university policies or collective agreements.

Relevant Legislation

The fundamental rules guiding intellectual property (IP) rights are outlined by:

Related Policies, Procedures, and Documents

Please consult the university policies and contact the Office of Research for further details.

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