York St John University Intellectual Property Policy

Scope Intellectual Property Policy applying to all staff and studentsEffective Date October 2015Responsible Dept. Academic Development DirectorateLast Updated October 2015

1. ScopeThis policy applies to all York St John University (‘the University’) employees (academic and non‐academic, including visiting lecturers, temporary/casual employees and research assistants) and students (taught and research). It also applies to consultants and secondees from outside organisations, unless specified differently in the contract governing their appointment. A principle of ‘no detriment’ will apply during the 2015/16 academic year to staff and students who joined the university when the previous policy (RES03 Policy on Intellectual Property Rights and Research) was in place.

2. ResponsibilitiesThe Deputy Vice Chancellor (DVC) is the owner of this policy and is responsible for Intellectual Property throughout the University.

The Chief Operating Officer will oversee the administration of the reward for creation. This process and the profit sharing arrangements are described in appendix 3

VCG shall be responsible for determining the quantum of the reward and how it is to be allocated amongst the co-creators.

The Director of Academic Development is responsible for approving creative commons licences for the non-commercial sharing of learning and teaching material.

The Director of External Engagement and the Director of Academic Development are jointly responsible for ensuring that this IP Policy is known and followed throughout the University.

The Vice Chancellor is responsible for hearing appeals against decisions relating to this policy.

3. BackgroundThe University regards the creation of intellectual property (IP) as an essential element of teaching, research and knowledge exchange activities. IP is an asset that may have commercial value, with three key benefits:

It contributes directly to the financial position of the University and the creators of the IP It improves the University’s reputation as a socially relevant, world-leading research and

teaching organisation It has public benefit and fits with the University’s charitable status

The University has a responsibility to ensure the effective management of all its assets, including IP, for the good of the University1. This policy aims to:

1 Each instance of IP will be reviewed on a case- by- case basis by Finance to ensure appropriate consideration of any accounting and taxation issues.

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Define what IP is Establish ownership of IP Help creators of IP understand and deal with IP Rights (IPRs) Enable employees and students to make best use of creations arising from their work

within the University

4. DefinitionsIP is a general term and describes the outputs of creative endeavour in literary, artistic, industrial and scientific fields which can be protected under legislation. It also refers to know-how.

IPRs are the legal rights that may exist in certain types of creative works. Some of these exist automatically. Others need to be registered to be effective. It is possible that a number of these rights may exist simultaneously in one type of work. The main categories of IPRs are as follow2:

Copyright including related rights Registered and unregistered designs Trade marks Patents Domain Names Know-how and trade secrets

Disclosable works are outputs arising from academic activity by staff or students that include a new method or idea, or an invention or novel creation. They can be of a literary, artistic, industrial, scientific or engineering nature. They will be something important, new or original3.

5. OwnershipIP is a valuable asset that underpins the basis of innovation. Appropriate steps should be taken to protect IP.

IP may arise from employees or students carrying out day-to-day academic activities, research, studies or new enterprise activity. For example:

Works generated by computer hardware or software owned or operated by the University

Films, videos, performance works, multimedia works, notebooks and other presentations

Patentable and non‐patentable inventions Registered and unregistered designs Books, articles or other material to be published in an individual capacity The development of course materials in virtual leaning environments as employees

creating teaching materials during the course of their employment do not own the IPRs to the materials they create

Know‐how and other information associated with the above

2 For detailed descriptions of these, see Appendix 1.3 Derived from Aston University Intellectual Property Policy, 2012. http://www.aston.ac.uk/EasySiteWeb/GatewayLink.aspx?alId=137657 Accessed 26 March 2015.

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6. General Policy6.1. The policy of the University is that it shall own all IP (as defined in Section 3, above)

generated by work carried out under its auspices for the benefit of the University as a whole, subject to the exceptions contained in this policy. This policy will include the activities of any trading subsidiaries except where otherwise agreed. The University will use such IP for the benefit of the University.

6.2. The University shall encourage: persons who create IP within the University that has a commercial value or persons who bring into the University, for the benefit of the University, IP which

they own6.3. The University shall use reasonable endeavours to ensure that it does not infringe the

IPRs of others.6.4. The University does not claim copyright of teaching materials produced by employees in

any previous employment. However, employees must obtain written permission from former employers to continue to use any copyright material during the employees’ employment with the University.

6.5. Teaching material, including e-learning material, is normally protected through copyright. The University holds the copyright in works produced by employees in the course of their employment. The University, in consultation with the relevant employee(s), may exploit teaching materials as it sees fit. However, employees may be granted a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use such materials for non-commercial purposes and may share material for non-commercial purposes using a creative commons licence approved by the Director of Academic Development.

6.6. Where work is supported by external funders, it is expected that the ownership and commercialisation of any IP arising from the work will be specified in the terms of grant or contract. Employees are responsible, under the terms of this policy, for ensuring that the University’s rights in relation to IP are preserved. The Deputy Vice Chancellor (DVC) can be consulted for advice.

6.7. Current or former employees will not be entitled to use any materials in which the University owns the IPR without the written permission of the University. Enquiries should be directed to the DVC.

6.8. The University has rules as to the payment of fees to staff, research students or taught course students in respect of IP generated in the course of academic activity. Persons offered a reward under this system shall execute a formal agreement to enshrine the terms of the regard and their obligations. For details of the University’s Financial rewards to creators, see Appendix 3.

6.9. The DVC is responsible for directing the University’s IP relating to commercialisation, knowledge transfer, business engagement activities and the non-commercial use of the University’s IP to support learning, teaching and research.

6.10. The DVC may seek legal and/or other advice before making decisions on IP matters.

6.11. The Director of External Engagement and the Director of Academic Development are jointly responsible for ensuring that this IP Policy is known and followed throughout the University.

7. ExceptionsThere are a number of circumstances in which the general policy of the University on IP ownership may not apply, for example:

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7.1 The University will not exercise its right of ownership in respect of copyright in scholarly works (such as books, articles and learned papers), performances, musical scores and creative writing. Copyright for these shall belong to the author.

7.2 The University will not exercise its right of ownership where the University has reached agreement with the creator that the creator should remain the owner of specified IP.

7.3 IP that is created by taught-course or research students in the course of their studies will be owned by the students unless the University specifies otherwise in advance of the creation of the IP in question.4

7.4 IP that is created by staff studying for YSJU taught or research degrees will be owned by them as students (as per 7.3 above), but this does not apply to IP created under their employment contract.

8. Creators obligations to disclose, identify, protect and secure the University’s IP

8.1 Creators must NOT assign, licence or give any rights in the Disclosable Work or the intellectual property this may contain to any other person nor may they purport to do this on the University’s behalf

8.2 Creators must NOT agree anything with any third party regarding the use or exploitation of Disclosable Works without specific prior written authority from the DVC

8.3 Creators must NOT agree anything with any third party regarding the intellectual property rights in any Disclosable Works without specific prior written authority from the DVC

8.4 Creators must keep full records of their development of their Disclosable Work8.5 Creators must notify the DVC and the relevant Dean of Faculty at the earliest

opportunity full details of all Disclosable Work they produce, the circumstances surrounding its creation and all related information which the University requires, including: any commercial potential in any IP created any third party involvement in the creation of the IP any use of pre-existing University IP relevant to the creation of the IP any use of their own pre-existing IP

8.6 Creators must keep all Disclosable Work confidential and avoid disclosing them prematurely to third parties5

8.7 Creators must only disclose any Disclosable Work and the intellectual property relating to it in accordance with the University’s instructions

8.8 Creators must co-operate with the University in applying for patent or other protection8.9 Creators must provide any information required by the University to ascertain and

demonstrate intellectual property ownership8.10 Creators must take steps to protect the University’s position in its exploitation of the

relevant intellectual property by: Agreeing terms of IP ownership in line with this policy prior to the commencement of

any work and including this as part of any collaborative proposal or contract. Referring to the DVC any collaborative proposal or contract in respect of Intellectual

Property prior to it being signed. Keeping all matters relating to the potential IP confidential until the fact and manner

of disclosure are agreed. Assisting in protecting the University’s rights to the IP by keeping adequate records

of the creation of the IP;8.11 Creators must seek the University’s consent to any publication of information relating to

any Disclosable Work.

4 Note that student works may include third-party material. Usually students are not entitled to assign or licence rights in third-party material included in their own works. The University should seek third-party permissions, if necessary, prior to commercial use of student work5Prematurely would be when this might invalidate any commercial property rights that could result.

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8.12 Conflicts of interest may arise in relation to a variety of issues as a result of creation of a Disclosable Work or its exploitation. Any creator with any doubt as to whether a conflict has arisen or may arise must inform the DVC immediately.

8.13 Note that the departure of a student or employee from the University or the fact that a contractor’s agreement with the University has come to an end does not change the obligations of that student, employee or contractor under this IP Policy in relation to Disclosable Works created prior to such departure.

9. Reward for creation of IP

9.1 Where IP is jointly created by staff, or by staff and students, VCG shall be responsible for determining the quantum of the reward and how it is to be allocated amongst the co-creators.

9.2 The Chief Operating Officer will oversee the administration of the reward for creation. This process and the profit sharing arrangements are described in appendix 3.

10. Notification of infringements

10.1 Persons bound by this policy must inform the University, in writing, addressed to the DVC, if they become aware of, or reasonably suspect:

Any infringement of the University’s IP rights The infringement by the University of any third party’s IP rights.

11. Application of policy

11.1 The University will consider submissions to use its IP under license by staff or students. Decisions on such submissions will rest with the DVC for commercialisation, knowledge transfer, business engagement activities, learning and teaching or research activities, who will consult as necessary, including seeking legal and/or other advice when appropriate. Such decisions will be solely at the discretion of the University, but permission will not be unreasonably withheld.

12. Assignment

12.1 The University may assign or license its IP rights to the creators or others if it has reason to believe that there would be no benefit to retaining the IP, or if better use of the IP would be achieved thereby.12.2. Applications for the assignment or license of University IP rights should be made in writing to the DVC for commercialisation, knowledge transfer, business engagement activities, learning and teaching or research activities.

13. Breach of policy

13.1 A breach relating to this policy may lead to disciplinary action through established staff or student disciplinary procedures. The University may also seek legal redress and compensation where failure to follow this policy results in a loss of income or other damage to the University.

14. Disputes and appeals

14.1 Disputes arising from the application of these regulations will be communicated in writing to the Head of Human Resources in the case of staff, and through the University’s complaints procedure, for students.

14.2 Appeals against decisions relating to this policy will be heard by the Vice Chancellor.

14.3 Grounds for appeal 5

a serious procedural error that resulted in significant detriment to the employee or student

new evidence that has only come to light after the decision was made the original decision was unfair and unreasonable in the circumstances

14.4 The appeal should be submitted in writing to the Vice Chancellor within 20 working days of the decision being made, citing the ground(s) for the appeal. An appeal hearing will normally be held within 20 working days of the request for an appeal being received. The appellant will be informed in writing of the time, date and venue for the appeal and will be asked to advise of disability-related access requirements that they have. The appellant can be accompanied by a trade union representative (for staff) or a YSJ Student Union representative (for students) or workplace colleague. An HR representative will be present at all appeal hearings involving a member of staff. A note taker will also be in attendance.

14.5 At appeal, the decision will be reviewed against the specific grounds on which the appeal is based. The appeal panel can either:

Dismiss the appeal and confirm the sanction issued. Uphold the appeal and review/reduce the level of sanctions. In exceptional circumstances, instruct a re-investigation/re-hearing of the case.

14.6 The appellant should be told the decision of the appeal panel as soon as possible after the hearing. The decision should be confirmed in writing within 3 working days. If there is to be a delay a written explanation will be sent to the appellant giving a date when a decision will be made and communicated. The appeal is the final stage of the University’s internal procedures.

Ratified by Academic Board 21/10/15

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Appendix 1- Main classes of intellectual property

There are four main classes of intellectual property: copyright, trademarks, designs, and patents. This section explains these protections, along with some related issues: domain names, confidential information, know-how, and unfair competition.

1. Copyright Copyright protects original creative works that have been recorded in some way. The protection arises as soon as the work is recorded; registration is not required. Copyright protects works belonging to seven categories:

Literary Dramatic Musical Artistic Films Sound recordings Broadcasts

Computer programs are protected as literary works.

The standard period of copyright protection in the UK is 70 years from the death of the author or creator.

The benefits afforded by copyright can be split into two categories: Economic – the rights to copy, adapt, distribute and perform the work; Moral – the right to be identified as the author or creator, and to not have your work used in

a derogatory manner.

Compilations of information in the form of a database are protected by Database Right. Because of the lesser standard of creativity, protection is only for 15 years. Database right protects the contents of the database from unauthorised extraction or re-utilisation.

All significant material in which copyright belonging to YSJ subsists should include a copyright claim. This includes prospectuses, brochures, academic papers or posters, but not internal notes and working documents. The claim should be on each page if the document is loose-leaf.

The standard copyright notice to display clearly on documents and packaging should be:

"Copyright (or ©) York St John University [Year] All Rights Reserved" or

"Database Rights property of York St John University [Year] All Rights Reserved"

For highly significant or valuable copyright works such as computer software, strategy documents, examination papers, & wherever space allows, the following wording should be used:

“Copyright © York St John University [date]. The copyright in this work is vested in York St John University. This work, either in whole or in part, must not be used, sold, transferred, copied or reproduced for purposes other than that for which it is supplied, without the prior written permission of York St John University.”

Any document (in whatever media) which is revised or updated outside of the year of its first publication should be dated with the year of each revision. For example the notice for a document created in 2012 and updated annually should read:

"© 2012, 2013, 2014 York St John University All Rights Reserved".

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It is important to avoid infringing the copyright of others. When reusing copyright material, there are four questions to consider:

1. Is the work protected by copyright? If the copyright has expired or been waived, or if the work is not from a protected category, then it is not protected by copyright. Copyright does not protect facts.

2. Is there an exception in the law6 that would allow you to copy? There are exceptions in copyright law that allow acts of copying for a specific purpose. Many of these are subject to a ‘fair dealing’ requirement, meaning that you may only copy a small amount and no more than is required for the purpose. To find out more about the copyright exceptions, see the University guidance at issuu.com/ysjils/docs/copyright-issuu

3. Is there a licence that would legitimise the copying? The University holds the CLA7, NLA8 and ERA9 licences. Furthermore, some online content may be released for use under an open licence, such as Creative Commons.

4. Can I seek permission directly from the copyright owner to copy? This is best done in writing, so that you have a written record. No response does not mean permission is granted to use.

More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/intellectual-property/copyright

Related rightsRelated rights protect those with creative input to a work, but who are not the author or creator. They protect, for example, singers, musicians, performers, producers and broadcasters. Related rights would arise in a live performance at the University, for example: music concerts, plays, film-making, lectures. It is important to seek permission to record a live performance. Some things that you can do to protect performance rights are:

Discourage making of copies using a note in a programme, in an announcement before a performance, or by using signage to the audience;

Ask somebody to scrutinise the audience to see whether recording equipment is being used;

Stamp the copyright symbol onto any recording of the performance that you make.

2. Trade marksMost people are familiar with the concept of a trade mark, for example the word “McVities” and the bottle used for Coca-Cola. Trademarks are the brand names and images used by businesses to distinguish their goods and services from those of competitors. A trade mark can take many forms; it can be a symbol or logo, a phrase or even a distinctive shape (for example, Toblerone chocolate). A trade mark must usually be registered to be protected. The owner of a registered trade mark can have a monopoly right for an indefinite period, provided the registration is kept up to date.

All references to unregistered trademarks, including applications for registered trademarks prior to grant, should include the symbol ™.

If the mark is registered, you can use the ® symbol or the abbreviation "RTM" to show this. The ® symbol usually is usually placed on the right-hand side of the trade mark, in a smaller type size than the mark itself, and in a raised (superscript) position. It is an offence to use ® or "RTM" on a mark that is not registered anywhere in the world.

When making reference to third party trademarks, include a footnote indicating that: “X, Y, Z is a trade mark belonging to A, B, C”.

6 The current UK copyright law is the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 19887 Copyright Licensing Agency8 Newspaper Licensing Agency9 Educational Recording Agency

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Even where marks are not registered, the law of passing off can help to protect the “look and feel” of goods and services by preventing competitors from taking unfair advantage of the goodwill that has been build up around a particular brand.

More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/intellectual-property/trade-marks

3. DesignsDesign right protects the aesthetic features of a creation. This can be 2D: patterns and colour, and 3D: shapes.

Registered Design Right You can register a design with the Intellectual Property Office: https://www.gov.uk/intellectual-property/designs. A design can be registered if it is new and has ‘eye appeal’ – that is, the design is meant to be aesthetically pleasing. For example, you would normally take into account the look or design of a vase when deciding whether to buy it – but you wouldn’t normally care what a plug looks like. A design right does not protect technical features.

The owner of a registered design will have a monopoly right for up to 25 years – no-one else will be able to sell, manufacture or use the design without permission. A registered design has to be renewed every five years with the Intellectual Property Office.

Unregistered Design Right This arises automatically and will protect your design for up to 15 years. Unregistered design right cannot protect 2D features, only 3D. If you do not plan to register a design then it is important to keep a record of when it was created, along with proof.

4. Patents Inventions like engineering components or manufacturing processes can be protected by patents. It is not possible to patent an idea. Once the product has been made, the product itself, together with the method or process for making it, could form the subject matter of a patent.

The holder of a patent is granted a monopoly right of up to 20 years. This means that during that period nobody can sell, manufacture or use the product or process without the patent holder's permission. An invention needs to fulfil the following criteria to be granted a patent:

It must be new i.e. not form part of the ‘state of the art; It must be non-obvious i.e. it could not be deduced by somebody with average knowledge

in the technical field ; It must not have been made public in enough detail that someone reading the information

could clearly see how to make or use the invention. Because patent rights may be lost if any details are disclosed to anyone outside of the University who is not bound by confidentiality obligations, it is important that anyone who believes that a patentable invention has been made should:

Not discuss any work that may be patentable with anyone who is not an employee of the University;

Not discuss the work with other members of staff or students unless they are involved in the development;

Not publish anything regarding the idea; Use non-disclosure agreements, where appropriate, when discussing the idea with third

parties: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/intellectual-property-non-disclosure-agreements

If public disclosure has been made in breach of an obligation of confidentiality then the University may still have a grace period in which to apply for a patent if it can demonstrate to the patent office

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that such disclosure was in breach of this policy or a contract of employment. This may happen if a colleague inadvertently disclosed something at a conference or in a paper.

Staff working in areas where it is likely that a patentable invention may be created should make regular notes setting out the nature of the creative work that they do. YSJ should retain all records, drafts, flow charts, notebooks and any other working papers filed in an orderly manner (although it is accepted that this may not be possible in respect of key research work forming the 'stock in trade' of an academic). More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/intellectual-property/patents

5. Domain Names A domain name works like a company name and is a name by which a company or organisation is known on the Internet. It is a convenient ‘short-hand’ way of identifying a company’s web site address e.g. amazon.co.uk.

Many national laws treat domain name infringement as trademark infringement. Using a domain name that is not yours is called using it in ‘bad faith’ or ‘cyber-squatting’.

There are many registrars who can register domain names. Each country has a central registry to store unique names and addresses on the Internet. Nominet UK is the Registry for .uk Internet domain names, and provides a dispute resolution service for .UK domain names. More information can be found here: http://www.nominet.org.uk

WIPO also keep a register of international domain names and provide an arbitration and dispute resolution service: http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/

6. Know-how and trade secretsThese relate to non-patented technical information. This can belong in the heads of employees, be built up over time and then people take it with them when they leave. Therefore, it is good business practice to ensure that a record is made of this type of information.

Trade secrets are commercially sensitive information that is kept a secret from competitors in order to minimise the risk of theft. An example is the recipe for Coca-Cola, which has been kept secret for over 100 years.

To protect know-how and trade secrets: Identify information which an employee may have which is necessary for University

business and should not be lost Keep a secure record of any such information Restrict access to commercially sensitive information to employees and contractors who

need to know Make employees aware of the confidential nature of the information Use non-disclosure agreements when discussing commercially sensitive information with

third parties.

7. Unfair competitionUnfair competition is any act of competition that is contrary to honest practices. Dishonest business practices include, but are not limited to, the following:

Stealing and using known trade secrets Misleading customers with a similar trade mark to a registered mark False allegations made in order to discredit a competitor.

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Appendix 2- Action points for implementationWhilst this document sets out the policy of the University, it needs to be applied and implemented in practice. The University believes that the most simple and straightforward approach to implementing this policy is to ensure that everybody is aware of it and understands it, and to ensure its incorporation into all contracts with the University. The following contracts will incorporate the principles of this policy document:

• contracts of employment; • contracts of enrolment/education/research; • contracts with any other individual or legal entity not covered elsewhere.

IP created by consultants and other third parties will, in the absence of any prior agreement to the contrary, usually belong to the third party who created it.

When third parties are licensed to use the University IPR (e.g. trademarks or patented inventions), the use of such rights will be strictly under the terms of the licensing agreement. The licence should ensure that the rights are not used in a way that is damaging either to the right itself or to the reputation of the University. The DVC should be consulted.

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Appendix 3- Financial rewards to creators

Whilst the University’s policy is to own IP, it is also wants to be fair. It recognises that staff, and staff working together with students, who innovate and put forward work and ideas for exploitation, must be justly rewarded. The University recognises the contribution that resourceful innovative individuals make to the University and firmly believes that such effort should be recognised.

It is, therefore, important to be able to correctly identify the "creator(s)" of any IPR that arise. A person will not be considered the creator merely because he/she contributes advice or assistance. A "creator" needs to do more than that. A creator is the person who realises that when certain details/information is brought together in a particular way, it results in an invention. The "creator" for each type of IPR is as follows:

• Patents – the creator is the inventor or the actual deviser; • Copyright – the creator is the author, the person who has the original idea and records it in some form; • Database right - the creator is the person making the arrangements for the compilation of the database e.g. deciding what information will be collated and in what format; • Design Right, Registered Design Right and Trade Marks – the creator is the designer;

The University’s policy is to share surplus income with creators. Surplus income is the amount of income generated by the exploitation of IPR after deduction of:

• costs involved in the creation and development of the work; • application and registration costs (e.g. the actual cost of obtaining legal protection); • renewal fees (e.g. fees paid to maintain legal protection); • publication and marketing costs;• tax including additional PAYE, National Insurance contributions. IP payments will not normally be pensionable;• professional fees.

The University will divide the surplus income, after deduction of the above costs, evenly 50:50 between the University on one side and the creator (or creators) on the other, irrespective of the amount of surplus or the number of creators.

The University will take into account the contribution made by individual creators, the extent to which it formed part of their normal duties, and the extent to which creators contribute to the development, exploitation and promotion of the work.

Payments will be made once a year in December.

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Appendix 4

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DISCLOSURE FORM10

CONFIDENTIAL

IP Disclosure Form

Name:

Date Received

Title of the Project Ref No:

In order to protect the rights of all members of staff involved it is important for the University fully to determine the facts relating to the invention, design or production of copyrightable material (including software). This Intellectual Property Disclosure Form is intended to record the invention and should be lodged with the Deputy Vice Chancellor (DVC) as soon as possible.

The information provided in this form will be treated as confidential and will be used for the sole purpose of assessing and seeking protection of the disclosed invention.

POSSIBLE IPR

Please tick relevant box

Patents

Trade Marks

Designs

Copyrights

Confidential Information........

CONTRIBUTOR

1 Name Post

Faculty

Home Address

Nationality

KEY DATES

First recorded date of the IP

10 Derived from the University of Winchester’s IP Disclosure Form.13

Date your employment commenced with YSJU

OTHERS INVOLVED

OTHER STAFF INVOLVED

Please list all individuals whom you consider to have made an active contribution to the creation of the intellectual property. (Each contributor will be asked to complete this form individually.)Names:

1

2

Home address(es)

1 2

Nationality

Faculty

OTHER STUDENTS INVOLVED

1

2

Home address(es)

1 2

Nationality

Faculty

EXTERNAL FUNDING

Please give a detailed account of ALL external funding which has been used in connection with this or related work, including grants, contracts, studentships:

Cost code(s)

(If available)

CONFIDENTIALITY

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Please provide details of Confidentiality / Non-disclosure Agreements entered into with reference numbers / dates (please supply copies if available) :

DESCRIPTION

Brief description of IP (circa 150 words):

PRIOR ART

Please give details of any earlier work of the same kind of which you know (Prior Art)

(Please included details of and/or attach copies of relevant publications with publication dates)

PUBLICATIONS / DISCLOSURE

Please provide details of any publications relating to the invention that you have or intend to make, or any other forms of disclosure (including verbal) with dates and form of disclosure:

THE INVENTIVE STEP

Please give details of the inventive step taken in the IPPlease attach 2-3 typed A4 pages giving a full description of the IP with full technical description if appropriate.

In which markets do you believe the IP will find most success?

List the three key commercial benefits of the IP:

1.

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2.

3.

Do you know of any companies that may be interested in the IP? (You and other named creators should declare any conflicts of interest that may arise if YSJU were to enter into a commercial agreement with any of these companies).

The information which is provided on this form will be used by the University to assess the ownership of the intellectual property rights, potential third party claims to those rights, and obligations to external sponsors. Incorrect or incomplete details could lead to litigation, the reduction or loss of exploitation revenues, or the invalidation of patent applications.

I confirm that I and the parties named are the original creators of this invention and that the above information is, to the best of my knowledge and belief true and correct. I agree to cooperate with York St John University in seeking appropriate IP protection in the name of t York St John University and in the exploitation of this invention/design, in accordance with the University’s IP policy.

Signed by Dated

Signature of the Dean of Faculty

Upon completion please forward this form to the DVC. If you have any queries regarding the completion of this form please contact the DVC.

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Appendix 5 - Useful Websites and Sample Contracts

Further information about IP

http://www.ipo.gov.uk/

Sample contracts and agreements

https://www.gov.uk/lambert-toolkit

Own It offers free intellectual property advice for London’s creative people. Useful information on website.

http://www.own-it.org/events/

JISC Legal – now closed and archived, but still useful.

http://www.jisclegal.ac.uk/ipr/IntellectualProperty.htm

Registered Designs Act 1949

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/registered-designs-act-and-rules

Patents Act 1977

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-patents-act-1977

Copyrights Designs and Patents Act 1988

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/48/contents

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-act-strengthens-intellectual-property-rights-for-uk-businesses

http://www.hefce.ac.uk/whatwedo/lgm/lgmprojectsfunded/informationtechnology/intellectualpropertymanagementandcommercialisation/

http://search.creativecommons.org/

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