A revised version of the Rensselaer Intellectual Property Policy was approved by the Board of Trustees December 6, and was put into effect as of January 1. The existing document hadn’t been touched since 1988, and thus was in need of clarifications and revisions to improve the policy. The IP Policy has been in review for well over a year, according to Acting Provost Robert Palazzo.
President Shirley Ann Jackson appointed an Intellectual Property Task Force co-chaired by Professor Mark Shephard and Institute Council Chuck Carletta to review the document and make suggestions for improvements. The policy was also vetted through the faculty and prepared with direct faculty membership within the Task Force.
The Intellectual Property Policy defines the legal relationship between RPI and members of the Rensselaer community in regards to the rightful ownership of intellectual property created at the Institute.
Although there are a number of changes regarding the wording and clarification of concepts in the document, few alterations were made with the actual substance of the policy.
One important addition, however, is that if Exempted Scholarly Work is incorporated into Institute-owned IP, or otherwise used at Rensselaer, the creator must provide RPI with a license to use the IP for educational and research purposes here. Another change is that the provisions of this policy now apply to everyone equally, as opposed to different rules applying to different groups.
Intellectual Property has been referred to more generically rather than as specific types like copyrights or patents, and the policy has been clarified in how it applies to students and inventions by students with the Significant Use of Rensselaer Property—which has been drastically revised to further protect the Institute.
Lastly, the policy has been condensed and simplified from its original form. Many details have been deleted to form a more concise policy; separate procedure manuals have been completed regarding the administration of research contracts and the technology commercialization process.
Palazzo feels that these revisions update the policy and maximize the protection of everyone involved. Palazzo stated that it has been benchmarked with policies at similar institutions and is comparable to them.
