Intellectual Property in Research Agreements: A Basic Course
This online course is designed to assist university personnel whose work involves evaluating and drafting the intellectual property (IP) provisions of research agreements with external sponsors. It provides a broad introduction to the basics of intellectual property, plus it includes many practical, hands-on exercises using IP clauses from actual research and licensing agreements. The course also offers suggestions for dealing with issues commonly encountered in negotiating agreements with federal, state, non-profit and clinical trial sponsors of research.
This course is based on an online training course originally developed for research agreement negotiators working at the University of California. But all research universities, wherever they are located, and regardless of whether they are public or private institutions, face essentially the same intellectual property issues in research agreements because they are negotiating with much the same population of government and private research sponsors.
The course is divided into three main sections:
- Introduction to IP and Technology Transfer — The basic principles and concepts of law, policy and practice that govern the field of intellectual property management at research universities;
- IP Clauses in Research Agreements — Applying these basic principles and concepts to invention, copyright and data clauses in research agreements, including extensive online exercises in drafting intellectual property clauses;
- IP at Work — Practical guidelines for constructing and evaluating research agreements with different types of sponsors, plus useful review materials and resources to assist you in your daily work.
Although each Lesson of the course may be taken as a standalone unit, the course does have a learning trajectory; later Lessons build on concepts introduced in previously Lessons. Newcomers to the field will find it helpful to take the course in sequence, but it is not a requirement. Those who already have some experience negotiating research agreements may wish to consult specific sections for reference or review.
Section I: Introduction to IP and Technology Transfer
Lesson 1: Course Introduction
Lesson 2: Introduction to IP: Patent Rights, Copyrights and Data Rights
- Patents
- Copyrights
- Data Rights
- The Bayh-Dole Act and Technology Transfer
- Overview of University Tech Transfer
- Guiding Principles and IP Policy
- University Policy on Patent Assignment
- The Negotiator's Role
- The Four-Phase Negotiation Process
Lesson 5: Invention Clauses in Research Agreements
- Title and Ownership
- Scope of Inventions
- License Rights
- The License Process
- Copyright Clauses: Inside and Outside the Box
- Evaluating Copyright Clauses in Research Agreements
- State Agency Contracts
- Data Rights Clauses: Inside and Outside the Box
- Evaluating Problem Data Rights Clauses
- Unique Situations: Clinical Trials, MTAs, Federal & State Contracts
Lesson 8: Partners, Providers and Sponsors -- The Wide World of Research Agreements
- Non-Profit Sponsors
- Clinical Trial Sponsors
- Providers of Tangible Resources
- Government Sponsors
Enrollment Options:
8 week Enrollment Periods:
* Course access is only available to students during your selected 8 week enrollment period
When registering you will need to select one of following 8 week enrollment periods:
| Start Date | End Date | Registration Deadline |
|---|
| Start Date | End Date | Registration Deadline |
|---|---|---|
March 4, 2013 |
April 29, 2013 |
February 25, 2013 |
April 15, 2013 |
June 10, 2013 |
April 8, 2013 |
May 6, 2013 |
July 1, 2013 |
April 29, 2013 |
June 17, 2013 |
August 12, 2013 |
June 10, 2013 |
July 8, 2013 |
September 2, 2013 |
July 1, 2013 |
August 19, 2013 |
October 14, 2013 |
August 12, 2013 |
September 9, 2013 |
November 4, 2013 |
September 2, 2013 |
Technical Requirements:
Internet Connection and Computer. For optimal performance please launch in Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher. Both Internet Explorer, Flash, and Adobe Acrobat reader are strongly recommended and are available for download, free of charge, at the start of the tutorial.
