Guidelines for Ownership of Research Material

While the ownership of inventions and copyright is clearly defined, the ownership of research materials is less clear.

Some research materials, such as cell strains, plant cultivars and prototypes of inventions fall under the existing policy because they mainly would be interpreted to be outcomes of research. The existing policy recognizes the rights of the inventors, including graduate students and staff, to determine the use of the results of research.

Ownership of original research materials used to produce the outcome (e.g., laboratory records, original spectroscopy reports, and so on) is not covered by the policy.

Guidelines intended for use by departments in developing more specific ownership policies suited to their specific needs are outlined in the Graduate Program Manual--Section 10: Intellectual Property.