Background information on policies

Intellectual property can generally be divided into three different areas of the law: Trademark, Patent and Copyright.

The Patent Policy applies to any inventive concept or invention that arises as a result of an employment relationship with the University or as a result of substantial use by a researcher of University resources, facilities, or information. Research work financed wholly or in part by an outside sponsor comes under the provisions of the grant or contract.

The Trademark Policy deals with words, names and symbols (for example, the University Cardinal) the University has used to identify itself, and how it protects that usage.

Copyright in the University environment has many different facets. Copyright protection governs "original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression". Currently there are two copyright policies at the University. The Copyright Policy governs usage of copyrighted materials in the classroom or elsewhere, including online. The Copyright Ownership Policy deals primarily with who at the university owns creative and scholarly works. With certain limited exceptions, scholarly works are owned by the faculty member who created the work.

For more information on copyright in general see the Office of General Counsel web page.