Greetings colleagues!  (This inquiry is being posted to a number of
different lists, so I apologize if you receive it more than once.)

I am working with a committee on campus, undertaking the review of
certain institutional policies.  We are currently looking at the
Intellectual Property policy, and at a recent meeting, I volunteered
to do a quick informal survey of our peers to see the practices at
other institutions.  I would be more than willing to post a summary
of any responses to the listserve.  If you prefer to contact me
directly versus responding on-line, I would be happy to talk to you
to discuss these inquiries.  I can be reached at
xxxxxx@ndsu.edu, or directly at 701-231-9608.  Thank you in
advance for your assistance!!

( FYI NDSU's IP policy can be found at
http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/policy/190.htm)

1.	How are students handled under your IP policy?
 Are they treated differently than employees?
 Are students who are employed on campus and conducting relevant work
as part of that employment treated differently than students engaged
in relevant work as part of an academic course?  (ex. Capstone-like
courses, Senior Design, etc.)
 Is anyone aware of recent specific case law dealing with student inventors?
 (At NDSU, under Article 7.b., ownership of student inventions is
handled under our IP policy, the same as faculty/staff/employee inventions.)

2.	What is the length of time permitted under your IP policy to
assess an invention disclosure?
 Does anybody have a tiered-system of tracking time? (for example,
the length of time permitted to evaluate a discovery would be
commensurate with the status of the disclosure, if an invention
disclosure is early stage versus more complete.)
 (At NDSU, under Article 3.3 c., our Tech Transfer office has 6
months to evaluate a discovery, although that time may be extended if
further R&D is needed.)

3.	Does your institution, as part of the hiring process, require
employees to sign a formal statement of acceptance of the
institution's policies?
 If so, does this statement specifically spell out certain policies,
such as the IP policy, noting in particular the obligation to assign IP?

4.	Does your institution require a separate written agreement for
assignment of IP, as required for federal funding under 37 CFR 401.14(f)(2)?
 If so, do you require this of all staff, or only those faculty and
technical staff working on federally funded projects?
 How about students that may work on a research project?
 Do you require this of all research, regardless of funding source?
 Is this done on a project-by-project basis, an annual basis, or as
part of the initial hiring process?
 If you do not require a separate written form, how do you document
compliance with the CFR requirement?

5.  	How do you handle Capstone or Senior Design Projects?
 Are these handled outside of your IP policy?
 Do you have separate policies to cover these?

If you could also provide links to your institution's IP policies,
that would be most appreciated!  Any other information you would like
to share would also be appreciated!

We plan to compile responses by institution, without naming
individual respondents.  I will also post a compilation to this list.

Many thanks for your assistance!!

Val Kettner
Associate Vice President
Sponsored Programs Administration

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