Article 9

COPYRIGHTS AND PATENTS

9.1 Disclosure. An employee shall disclose all patentable inventions and technological developments which the employee may develop or discover while an employee of the University. With respect to discoveries or inventions made during the course of approved outside employment, the employee may delay such disclosure for no more than one hundred and eighty (180) days, when necessary to protect the outside employer's interests, until the decision has been made whether to seek a patent.

9.2 Waiver of Rights. While an employee may, in accordance with Article 7, Outside Activity/Conflict of interest, engage in outside employment pursuant to a consulting agreement, the Office of Academic Affairs and the Office of Research and Graduate Programs, must approve any requirement by the outside employer that the employee waive the employee's/university's rights to any patentable invention or discoveries which arise during the course of such outside employment. An employee who proposes to engage in outside employment shall furnish a copy of the University's patents policy to the outside employer prior to or at the time the consulting agreement is executed.

9.3 Federal Sponsorship. If the employee's activities involve inventions or discoveries conceived under Federal sponsorship or supported by University funds or resources, then the Office of Academic Affairs and the Office of Research and Graduate Programs shall not grant permission to waive patent rights.

9.4 Reporting Procedures. The employee shall report to the President or designee the nature of the discovery or new invention, together with an outline of the project and the conditions under which it was done. If the University wishes to assert its interest in the patent, the President or designee shall inform the employee within a maximum of one hundred and thirty-five (135) days. It is understood that every effort shall be made at appropriate administrative levels to expedite the decision-making process to minimize the time involved. The division of proceeds between the University and the employee generated by the licensing of patent rights or trade secrets shall be negotiated and reflected in a written contract between the University and the employee. All such agreements shall comport with and satisfy any preexisting commitments to outside sponsoring agencies, but the employee shall not commit any act which would tend to defeat the University's interest in the matter, and the University shall take any necessary steps to protect such interest.