Procedures: Intellectual Property Policy

Executive Summary

The policies and procedures of The University of Western Ontario ("Western") respecting ownership and commercialization of matters affecting copyright, trademark and patent protection (collectively, "Intellectual Property Rights") with respect to faculty members in conjunction with academic research is governed by the provisions of a collective agreement between Western and The University of Western Ontario Faculty Association ("UWOFA"). Detailed provisions of the Intellectual Property Section can be reviewed on Western's web site where it is contained in the Faculty Collective Agreement on the Faculty Relations web site.

The general provision with respect to third party sponsored research initiatives undertaken by a faculty member at Western provides for the contract to be entered into between the sponsor and Western, and accordingly, the faculty member assigns his/her right, title and interest in and to any resulting intellectual property rights to Western, in order for it to be able to perform the obligations under the contract. Ultimate ownership of Intellectual Property Rights in this instance is determined by negotiation between the sponsor and Western, with entitlement for compensation to the faculty member as governed by the collective agreement.

In instances where Intellectual Property Rights arise from research independent of third party agreements, Western subscribes to an “inventor-owned” policy, but with requirement under the collective agreement for a report of invention to be made by the faculty member to Western for discussion of commercialization alternatives. Ownership is not automatically vested in Western in this instance, but only upon an elective assignment by the faculty member to Western, again in accordance with the provisions of the collective agreement.

Varying elements of compensation are reflected in the various categories of the Intellectual Property Rights as assigned.

• Research Facilitation
• Proposal Preparation
• Research Accounting
• Training