Intellectual Property

GENERAL: What are my intellectual property rights regarding research at Stanford?

COPYRIGHT: I have a "fair use" copyright question. Whom do I contact?

PUBLISHING CONTRACT: I need someone to review a contract with my publisher. Whom do I contact?

NONDISCLOSURE AGREEMENT: I have been asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Who needs to review it?

USE OF THE STANFORD NAME: Who can give me permission to use the name Stanford?

UNAFFILIATED "STANFORD" ENTITIES: I know of a company called Stanford xxxx that doesn't appear to be affiliated with Stanford University. Is there someone I should notify?

PHOTO TAKING: May I publish photographs taken of Stanford?

PHOTO PUBLISHING: Whom do I contact to receive permission to reprint a Stanford-owned photo?

DIGITAL MILLENNIUM ACT: Who is Stanford's appointed contact person under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act?

TEACH ACT: Where can I find Stanford's TEACH Act Policy, and who is Stanford's designated TEACH Act agent?

FILE-SHARING: Is it OK to download and distribute music or movies from the internet without paying for them?

GENERAL: What are my intellectual property rights regarding research at Stanford?

General
Patent Policy
Copyright Policy
Tangible Research Property (TRP) Policy
Who owns the intellectual property?
Sponsored Research
Additional Information

 

General

The University has established a comprehensive set of policies regarding ownership of intellectual property. You should refer first to those policies for general information. https://doresearch.stanford.edu/policies/research-policy-handbook/intellectual-property/inventions-patents-and-licensing.

You will also find more specific information at the Stanford Office of Technology Licensing (OTL) web site (http://otl.stanford.edu/inventors/policies.html). More particular questions can be directed to the OTL or to the Office of the General Counsel.

Patent Policy

As a general proposition, the University's patent policy requires that all potentially patentable inventions conceived or reduced to practice in whole or in part by members of the faculty or staff (including student employees) of the University in the course of their University responsibilities or with more than incidental use of University resources be disclosed on a timely basis to the University. Title to such inventions is assigned to the University, regardless of the source of funding, if any. Inventors may place their inventions in the public domain if they believe that would be in the best interest of technology transfer and if doing so is not in violation of the terms of any agreements that supported or related to the work. For more information, please refer to the University's Patent Policy http://www.stanford.edu/dept/ DoR/rph/5-1.html.

Copyright Policy
As a general proposition, the University's copyright policy establishes that all rights in copyright to pedagogical, scholarly, or artistic works, regardless of their form of expression, remain with the creator, except in specified cases where law or University policy require otherwise. For more information, please refer to the policy at http://www.stanford.edu/dept/ DoR/rph/5-2.html

Tangible Research Property (TRP) Policy

The University's TRP Policy promotes the prompt and open exchange of tangible items produced in the course of Stanford research projects with scientific colleagues outside the investigator's immediate laboratory. TRP includes such items as: biological materials, engineering drawings, computer software, integrated circuit chips, computer databases, prototype devices, circuit diagrams, equipment and associated research data. For more information, please refer to the policy at http://www.stanford.edu/dept/ DoR/rph/5-3.html.

 

Who owns the intellectual property?

As a general proposition, title to all potentially patentable inventions conceived or first reduced to practice in whole or in part by members of the faculty or staff (including student employees) of the University in the course of their University responsibilities or with more than incidental use of University resources, belongs to the University.

As a general proposition, the University's copyright policy establishes that all rights in copyright to pedagogical, scholarly, or artistic works, regardless of their form of expression, remain with the creator, except in specified cases where law or University policy require otherwise.

Sponsored Research

Industrial sponsors sometimes wish to sponsor research related to existing University inventions and patents. You can check the OTL web site for additional information, http://otl.stanford.edu/inventors/policies.html. Industrial contracts are handled by the Industrial Contracts Office, http://www.stanford.edu/group/ICO/.
 

Additional Information

Additional information may be found at http://otl.stanford.edu/inventors/resources.html.

COPYRIGHT: I have a "fair use" copyright question. Whom do I contact?

Where questions arise, we suggest that you consult first the memorandum regarding copyrights and fair use. For additional source material, see the Stanford fair use web site at http://fairuse.stanford.edu. Then, if you are not able to reach a definitive conclusion, you should consider obtaining permission to use the work from the copyright owner. In instances where the fair use question is important and permission would be difficult or expensive to obtain, please contact the Office of the General Counsel for assistance.

PUBLISHING CONTRACT: I need someone to review a contract with my publisher. Whom do I contact?

The OGC does not represent Stanford community members in their personal legal matters. If, under applicable Stanford policies, Stanford does not have a direct institutional involvement in your matter, then you need to arrange to handle that matter yourself. This includes hiring your own lawyer. We maintain a list of lawyer-referral services for lawyers in this area.

If under Stanford policies, Stanford does have a direct institutional involvement in your matter, contact your department head for instructions on how to proceed.

NONDISCLOSURE AGREEMENT: I have been asked to sign a nondisclosure agreement. Who needs to review it?

Before signing any nondisclosure agreement you should be sure that your doing so complies with Stanford's policies, such as the policy on Openness in Research (Research Policy Handbook), and that it does not unnecessarily restrict your academic freedom.

If you still have concerns please contact, the Office of the General Counsel at (650) 723-9611 for more information.

USE OF THE STANFORD NAME: Who can give me permission to use the name Stanford?

Stanford registered marks, as well as other names, seals, logos, and other symbols and marks that are representative of Stanford, may be used solely with permission of Stanford University. Items offered for sale to the public bearing Stanford's names and marks must be licensed. For the complete text of the University policy, which includes information on how to obtain permission to use the Stanford marks, see Administrative Guide Memo 15.5, Ownership and Use of Stanford Name and Trademarks at http://adminguide.stanford.edu/15_5.pdf. For additional information see also http://www.stanford.edu/dept/ news/html/publicity/name_use.html. Any further questions may be directed to the Office of the General Counsel.

UNAFFILIATED "STANFORD" ENTITIES: I know of a company called Stanford xxxx that doesn't appear to be affiliated with Stanford University. Is there someone I should notify?

Please contact the Office of the General Counsel.

PHOTO TAKING: May I publish photographs taken of Stanford?

Stanford's general rules for photography are located at http://www.stanford.edu/dept/news/html /publicity/press_coverage.html#rules.

PHOTO PUBLISHING: Whom do I contact to receive permission to reprint a Stanford-owned photo?

Stanford's general rules for reprinting or obtaining Stanford-owned photography are located at http://www.stanford.edu/dept/news/html/ publicity/press_coverage.html#obtain.

DIGITAL MILLENNIUM ACT: Who is Stanford's appointed contact person under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act?

Tina Darmohray
Information Security Officer
Stanford University
Polya Hall
255 Panama St.
Stanford, CA 94305-4136
650-723-2911
fax: 650-723-2011
tmd@stanford.edu

TEACH ACT: Where can I find Stanford's TEACH Act Policy, and who is Stanford's designated TEACH Act agent?

Stanford's TEACH Act Policy is contained in the Provost's Copyright Reminder. The TEACH Act Agent for Stanford University is Lauren Schoenthaler, University Counsel, Office of the General Counsel, (650) 723-9611, or email teachactagent@Stanford.edu.

FILE-SHARING: Is it OK to download and distribute music or movies from the internet without paying for them?

Sharing music, videos, software and other copyrighted material in violation of copyright laws may expose you and others to significant legal and University sanctions. Residential Computing has put together an excellent overview of file-sharing and its consequences, at http://rescomp.stanford.edu/info/dmca/. Please also refer to the Provost's letter affirming Stanford's commitment to the protection of copyrights, http://www.stanford.edu/dept/provost/news/copyright_update.html.