Will my university own my invention?
As a student, you're passionate about innovation and are constantly trying to create something new.
But what happens when you actually create something groundbreaking?
Will your university swoop in and claim ownership of your invention?
This is one of the questions I get most often from student inventors who're embarking on the journey toward securing a patent.
As a rule of thumb, you own your project fully as long as no one, including your university, has given you any special favor or paid in any way for the work done on the project.
Here are a few things that factor into ownership:
📖 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸
To be completely your intellectual property (IP), the work has to have been done independently, which it usually is.
The use of university resources like labs, equipment, etc. is not a factor that alienates your ownership of your project.
They cannot stake a claim on your project just because it happened while you were a student.
You're the sole creator unless there's an explicit agreement stating otherwise.
🧾 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀
Things get a little more dicey for postgraduate and doctoral students.
These levels usually see students take on positions offered by the university such as Teacher's Assistants, Research Assistants, or Work-for-Hire posts.
When you're an RA or otherwise working in a capacity that offers a pay or stipend, this can make you the university's employee.
This position usually, but doesn't always, mean that the university either fully or partially owns the IP you've created.
In such cases, it's best to review the employment contract and comb through the fine print to know before hand how much of the ownership of your work you'll be signing off to the university.
🤝 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀
More often than not, the project you're working on involves more than one person.
It could involve a teacher who's helping with the project, or other students working on it with you.
I feel that in collaborative projects, it's always best to discuss (and even put into writing) the ownership of any IP that the project may create from the get-go.
This eases the tensions in case a breakthrough does result from the work and prevents all the people involved from coming to you to demand their pound of flesh.
Get a patent attorney involved to make matters easier.
Make sure you know what, if anything you're giving up in return for the cash.
Remember, your invention is your brainchild.
Arm yourself with knowledge so you don't get cheated out of it.
Go through any and all contracts, get a patent attorney involved and have the paperwork looked at.
What else do you think factors into owning your invention, did I miss something?
I'd love to hear your views in the comments!