Βι¶ΉΣ³»­

Understanding intellectual property ownership

Who Owns the IP?

Your status, involvement, and the type of partnerships you develop while doing research at the Βι¶ΉΣ³»­ determine who owns the resulting Intellectual Property (IP). Below is a summary. For more information, contact Enterprise & Innovation at (775) 784-4421 or view the University's complete policy on IP.

Faculty & Staff

University owns

  • IP created within the scope of their employment
  • IP created as the result of an assignment from a University employee
  • IP created as part of a grant award
  • IP created with significant use of University resources (including funds)
  • IP created by a University employee under a corporate-sponsored research agreement

University and other institution jointly own

  • IP created with a collaborator from another institution

University and a company jointly own

  • IP created by a University employee and a company employee under a corporate-sponsored research agreement
    • Company will receive a first option to license the Βι¶ΉΣ³»­ ownership portion under reasonable terms.
    • The Βι¶ΉΣ³»­ will not have any rights to company’s pre-existing or solely owned IP except as needed to perform the research project.

Faculty & staff own

  • Traditional Scholarly Works they have authored/created, including
    • books
    • book chapters
    • articles
    • course materials
    • and the like
      These items are most often covered by copyright. The University has the right to use the works for research and educational purposes.

Student

Student owns

  • Any IP created while attending the University
  • Including IP created during a Capstone course project

University owns

  • IP created within the scope of employment for the University
  • IP created as part of a project performed with University funds
    Including grants awarded to the University

Member/user of the Innevation Center or the Βι¶ΉΣ³»­ Center for Applied Research

Member/user owns

  • Any IP created or existing prior to arrival at the center

University owns

  • IP created by faculty or staff in the normal scope of their work
  • IP created under a project funded by the University
    Including grant awards

Company employee

Company owns

  • IP created by company employee

University and a company jointly own

  • IP co-created by a University employee and a company employee under a corporate-sponsored research agreement or any other collaboration
    • The company will receive a first option to license the University ownership portion under reasonable terms
    • The University will not have any rights to the company’s pre-existing or solely owned IP except as needed to perform the research project

For questions, contact Grace Chou, chief innovation & commercialization officer at (775) 682-8756 or gchou@unr.edu.