Intellectual Property (Copyright, Patent)

I. PURPOSE

To articulate rules regarding intellectual property.

WSU supports academic freedom principles including the right to freely publish scholarly works and research results that are not subject to confidentiality obligations. WSU is entrusted with the responsibility of administering its own intellectual property in the best interests of the public.

II. REFERENCES

• Public Law 96-517, as amended, "The Patent and Trademark Amendments of 1980"
• WSU Policy 5-13
• WSU Policy 5-41

III. DEFINITIONS

Copyrightable Material. The term "material" refers to all copyrightable works, including but not limited to, writings, lectures, musical or dramatic compositions, sound recordings, films, videotapes and other pictorial reproductions, computer programs, listings, flow charts, manuals, codes, instructions, and software, and various combinations thereof.

Copyright Owner. The term "owner" refers to the party who owns or controls the bundle of rights to copyrightable material and who has the right to sell, assign, distribute, license, or otherwise control the uses of such material.

Publication. Publication occurs when by consent of the copyright owner the original or tangible copies of a work are sold, leased, loaned, given away, or otherwise made available to the general public.

Sale. Sale occurs when copyrightable materials are made available for consideration.

IV. POLICY

A. Creative works, such as discoveries, writings, instructional material, art works, know-how and inventions frequently result from WSU employee involvement in teaching, research and service activities. Creative works generally have certain intellectual property rights associated with their creation and existence.

B. Sponsored projects with products and/or creative work resulting from the project work, are subject to all University Policies stated in WSU Policy 5-13 and 5-41.