Intellectual Property Policy

Responsible Unit: COM | Executive lead: Provost
Created: 02/02/2008 | Reviewed/Revised: 06/2012 | Effective: 06/01/2012
Compliance: NWCCU 2.F.1
Approving Body: PAC | Classification: Institution-wide 

 

Purpose:
The following Policy deals with the relative rights and responsibilities among Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences (PNWU) students, faculty, staff, administrators, and the University, regarding intellectual property rights in works authored, created, invented, discovered or developed by students, faculty, staff, administrators, alone or in cooperation with, or the assistance of, others and regardless of whether those others be faculty members, students, or other employees of the University.  

Policy: 

The Policy is divided into nine sections, namely: 

  1.  Definitions and information 
  2. Use of the University Name and Trademarks 
  3. Appropriate Use of Software 
  4. Policies applying to All Intellectual Property Matters
  5. Trademark Policy 
  6. Patent Policy 
  7. Dispute Resolution 
  8. Administrative Procedures 
  9. Effective date and Amendments 


DEFINITIONS

  1. For the purposes of this policy, the following terms have the following meanings:

 “Device like Software”: is defined as software primarily intended to accomplish a task or to produce, manage or manipulate a product. 

 “PNWU”: is an acronym used as an alternate identifier for Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences and, as used herein, shall mean all of University programs, wherever located or delivered.  

 “PNWU Employee”: refers to any person receiving compensation for work performed for Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences or any person providing voluntary services for the benefit of the University. 

 “PNWU Resources”: are defined as all tangible resources provided by Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences to Creators and includes: office, lab and studio space and equipment, computer hardware, computer software, computer support, secretarial service, research, teaching and lab assistants, supplies, utilities, funding for research and teaching activities and travel, and other funding or reimbursements. The term does not include salary, insurance or retirement plan contributions made by PNWU to or for the benefit of Creators. 

 “Information Software”: is defined as software primarily intended to provide information to the user similar to a textbook or encyclopedia. 

 “Institutional works”: are defined as works that are produced: 

  1. At the instigation of PNWU, 
  2. Either as the result of the specific direction of PNWU, or as the result of performing those duties that one would reasonably expect to be performed by persons with the job description of the Creator, 
  3. For use by Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences, 
  4. By a person (or persons) acting within the scope of his or her employment. 

 “Instructional works”: (a sub-set of Institutional Works) are defined as Institutional works prepared by or at the direction of a faculty member for the presentation of assigned courses. Such works would include course syllabi, course outlines, lecture notes, tests, study guides and similar materials intended to be delivered online or through other non-traditional modes as well as course syllabi and course outlines for courses intended to be delivered in a traditional classroom mode. When a work satisfies both the definition of “Institutional works” and of “Instructional works” it shall be considered an “Instructional Work”. 

 “Intellectual Property”: as used herein, refers to the legally recognized rights in works that may be suitable for copyright registration, trademark registration, inventions that can be patented under the laws of the United States, and confidential or trade secret information. 

 “Intellectual Property Committee”: is defined as the Committee that administers the Intellectual Property matters of Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences and recommends to the Chief Executive Officer of the University the disposition of Intellectual Property rights under this Policy. The seven (7) person Committee consists of: 

Four (4) Faculty Members: (one each from Anatomy, Surgery, Internal Medicine, Research) appointed by the Dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine with the concurrence of the Chief Operations Officer. 

Two (2) Senior Administrators: the Chief Operations Officer and the Dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine. 

One (1) The Provost 

 “Patents”: Patents protect ideas and methods of achieving tangible things. Patentable inventions include new devices, new ways of making and using devices, new plants, new genetic substances, new living organisms, and products of genetic engineering. If the new invention involves patentable subject matter, then the United States Patent and Trademark Office will grant a patent if the inventor files a timely patent application which adequately describes a new, useful, and unobvious invention. An Inventor may lose his/her right to patent the invention by certain disclosures made thereof prior to filing a patent application and/or if the invention has been in public use or offered for sale in the United States.  

 “Required Disclosure”: Premature disclosure of potentially patentable material can result in loss of patent rights. Thus, Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences has an interest in protecting the form and timing of the results of potentially patentable work in which it has an intellectual property interest, which is why this Policy requires PNWU personnel to fill out an invention disclosure. In an effort to avoid subsequent ownership disputes, Washington statute law1[1] requires all employees “at the time of their employment or thereafter” to disclose to their employer all inventions being developed by the employee, for the purpose of determining employer or employee rights.” (Persons providing voluntary services for the benefit of Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences are not required to disclose all inventions developed prior to University service.) 

 “Service Mark”: A word, name, symbol, device, or any combination, used, or intended to be used, in commerce, to identify and distinguish one’s service(s) from others in the marketplace. 

 “Trademark”: are names, words, or symbols selected to identify businesses and their goods or services. Selection of a business or product name is an exercise of business creativity, which is usually followed by a substantial investment of time and money in an effort to add value to the new trademark. In most important ways, a trademark can be considered a “brand name.” 

 “Traditional Works of Scholarship”: are defined as works that do not meet the definition of “institutional works”, that reflect research or creativity which, within PNWU and/or within the post secondary education academic community generally, are considered evidence of professional advancement or accomplishment. Such works include scholarly publications, journal articles, research bulletins, monographs, books, and course materials developed for traditional modes of delivery as well as novel means of communication and new media forms. Such works also include “Information software” as hereinafter defined but does not include “Device type software” as herein defined. 


USE OF NAME AND TRADEMARKS AFFILIATED WITH PACIFIC NORTHWEST UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES

By non-university personnel: The name, Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences, and all its associated logos, seals and slogans are trademarks exclusively owned by PNWU. These trademarks may not be used for any purpose by any outside party without the written permission of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or the CEO’s designee. 

By faculty, staff and students: University personnel are bound by the same rules as non-university personnel in the use of Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences name and trademark properties for all endeavors not directly sponsored and authorized by PNWU.  

In addition, University stationery use is restricted to official University business and no report or statement issued as a result of private activities may use the name of Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences nor appear to be an official document of the University. 

 

APPROPRIATE USE OF SOFTWARE 

Commercial software is subject to protection under federal and state copyright and trademark laws. The penalties for illegal software copying and/or infringement of trademarks can be $100,000 or more for each violation. Unless software has been explicitly labeled as being in the public domain, it should be considered as commercial software so as to protect the University and the user from litigation. 

Software suppliers typically restrict use of software to those buyers indicating acceptance of the licensing agreement either packaged with the software or affirmed at the conclusion of an End User License Agreement in order to download software from the Internet. Acceptance of the suppliers’ terms and conditions constitutes a legally binding contract. Therefore, all PNWU personnel shall observe the restrictions attached to all software and not engage in restricted activities including but not limited to loaning, duplicating, selling or distributing software by any means. 

 

POLICIES APPLYING TO ALL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MATTERS

Notification – Intellectual Property Developed Prior to Employment

Employees have an obligation to notify Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences of all Intellectual Property that they own or are in the process of developing at the time of first employment with PNWU. Notification shall not be considered to be complete until such time a fully documenting memorandum of the intellectual property has been submitted to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the University. This step confers to Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences neither interest in, nor liability for, the employee’s personal intellectual property. It is simply a step required to protect both PNWU and the employee from any potential disputes regarding ownership. 

Notification – Intellectual Property Developed during Employment at PNWU

Employees have an obligation to immediately notify Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences of all Intellectual Property developed during employment with PNWU. This obligation remains in force whether or not the Intellectual Property has been developed with the use of PNWU resources or on the employee’s personal time.  

 Notification for patentable applications shall not be considered to be complete until such time as the form “Appendix 1” of the Intellectual Property Policy has been filled out in its entirety and submitted in confidentiality to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of PNWU. Notification for marks and/or copyrights is done by memoranda as outlined in sections V and VI below. This step confers to Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences neither interest in, nor liability for, the employee’s personal intellectual property. It is simply a step required to protect both PNWU and the employee from any potential disputes regarding ownership. 

Personal Intellectual Property Rights of PNWU Employees

Subject to the two exceptions set forth below, Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences does not require an Employee to assign any of the Employee’s rights in Intellectual Property for which no University equipment, supplies, facilities, or confidential or trade secret information was used, and which was developed on the Employee’s own time2[2]. 

There are two exceptions to this policy. Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences does require an Employee to assign the Employee’s rights in Intellectual Property if:  

  1. The Intellectual Property is directly related to the general scope of the Employee’s work at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences; or
  2. The Intellectual Property results from work performed by the Employee for the University. 

Distribution or publication of Works identifying PNWU Affiliation:  (prior approval required)

Regardless of the ownership of Intellectual Property in a work, Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences has an interest in preventing PNWU being inappropriately identified as the sponsor, employer of the author(s), or otherwise being affiliated with any work in a manner that might reasonably be construed as indicating PNWU’s authorization, sponsorship, or other approval of the contents of the work. Accordingly, no PNWU employee shall publish or broadly distribute any work outside the Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences community which indicates or infers PNWU sponsorship of the work or of the author(s), or approval of the contents of the work, which has not been submitted to and approved by the Intellectual Property Committee. 

Works funded wholly or partially from extramural sources:

Copyright, Trademark or Patent right ownership of all material that is developed pursuant to sponsored research funded in whole or in part by extramural sources, or is pursued under any agreement with extramural sources to which PNWU is a party, shall be determined in accordance with the terms of the sponsoring grant or other agreement or applicable laws and regulations3[3]. In the absence of contrary terms in said grants or agreements, specifying the ownership and/or disposition of Intellectual Property rights: (a) as between PNWU and the University’s employees this policy shall determine the disposition of such rights and (b) as between PNWU and the extramural sponsor or agency, applicable Intellectual Property law, including statute law, shall determine such disposition.4[4] 

It shall be the responsibility of all Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences employees who negotiate agreements with any extramural sources which may reasonably be expected to result in the development of intellectual property to include in such agreements provisions which address the ownership and disposition of such developed property between the contracting partners, and to obtain the approval of the Chief Operating Officer or the Dean of the College to such provisions prior to committing the University. 

It shall be the obligation of all PNWU employees involved in writing and securing of grants or other sponsorship agreements that contain provisions regarding rights in Intellectual Property resulting from the sponsored programs to call the same to the attention of the academic departments assigned any part of the work covered by the sponsorship, and the responsibility of the Dean and Department and/or Program Heads of such departments to notify the faculty and, where appropriate, the students involved, of such terms. 

 

TRADEMARK POLICY

Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences is the owner of, and thereby legally responsible for, all trademarks or service marks created by PNWU employees within the scope of their employment. While the activities that foster creation of such marks are not common within the scope of PNWU’s mission, they do occur. 

The use of trademarks and service marks without verification of their legal validity exposes Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences to image-damaging and potentially expensive litigation. At the very least, a lack of knowledge regarding similar marks and their scope of use could lead to a waste of resources in development of a mark only to lose the legal right of its use. 

In order to prevent use of an infringing trademark or service mark, as well as to provide for the protection of a valid and potentially valuable mark, any proposed marks should be referred, by explanatory memorandum, to the Intellectual Property committee for evaluation. It shall be the role of the Intellectual Property committee to determine whether: 

  1.  the use of any mark is necessary to an activity; or 
  2. an established PNWU mark is preferred for use; or 
  3. the mark proposed to the committee can be used. 

The Intellectual Property committee shall, at the time of review, also establish the existence of any claim to mark ownership if extramural funding sources are involved in the activity which fostered the development of the proposed mark. 

 

 PATENT POLICY REGARDING POTENTIALLY PATENTABLE INVENTIONS AND DISCOVERIES

 Overview

 Liability. Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences may hold an employee liable for lack of recognition of patentability of their work. 

 Precautions. Aside from criteria of novelty, non-obviousness and usefulness, successful patenting requires that: a) the development of an invention is thoroughly documented and b) that a United States Patent Application must be filed within one year of any sale, offer to sell, or public use of the invention. Additionally, to preserve patent rights in most foreign countries a U.S. Patent application should be filed prior to any “public disclosure” of the invention. Therefore, inventors should be very attentive to documenting their inventive work and avoiding any publication or public demonstration of the invention until application for patent has been made. 

 Nature of Documentation. Invention documentation should, in ideal form, establish the facts and priority dates of an invention’s original conception through the time it is reduced to commercial practice. The best means of accomplishing this task is by keeping an accurate record of all work and relevant thoughts in a bound journal or laboratory book: 

  •  Entries must be in ink. 
  • Each page must be dated and signed by the inventor and witnessed by someone other than a member of the inventive team. 
  • Errors must not be erased but rather “struck through” and corrections written in. Corrections should be initialed and dated if they are entered after the date of the original entry. 

 Potentially Patentable works developed during the course of employment at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences:

All PNWU employees are required and expected to complete an invention Disclosure document (substantially in the form of Appendix 1) for potentially patentable materials developed during the course of employment at PNWU. Said form shall be completed and delivered to the Chief Operating Officer as soon as reasonably practical after the employee becomes aware that the work may be potentially patentable. Upon being satisfied with the completeness of the disclosure the Chief Operating Officer shall deliver the Disclosure form to the Intellectual Property Committee and provide a copy to the Chief Executive Officer.  

The Intellectual Property Committee shall examine each Invention Disclosure form to determine if prior right exists under the terms of a sponsored grant or agreement per Section IV-E above. Compliance with the requirements of the extramural source regarding patentable material will be the primary criteria used by the Committee in such cases. 

 

Ownership And Royalty Rights in Potentially Patentable Works:
The Intellectual Property Committee will be responsible to review and report in writing to the Chief Operating Officer its recommendations concerning the ownership and disposition of all intellectual property rights in potentially patentable material developed by PNWU employees in the course of their employment. The Chief Executive Officer is responsible for the final determination of the disposition of potentially patentable intellectual property developed by PNWU employees in the course of their employment. Such determination shall be binding on PNWU and its employees, but shall be subject to appeal in accordance with the dispute resolution procedures in Section VIII, below. 

Criteria to be applied by the Intellectual Property committee in making its recommendations and by the Chief Executive Officer in making the final decision concerning disposition of such potentially patentable material are set forth in Appendix 2 hereof. 

 

APPEAL TO DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCESS
Any Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences employee or student believing that his/her rights in any intellectual property have not been fairly and equitably determined and disposed of by the Decision of the Chief Executive Officer, may require the matters in dispute be submitted to binding arbitration in the manner provided by Appendix 4 hereof. 

 

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES
The Procedures for the functioning of the Intellectual Property Committee and the Chief Operating Officer called for by this policy shall be as set forth in Appendix 3 hereof. 

 

EFFECTIVE DATES AND AMENDMENTS

Effective date: This Policy shall become effective on adoption by the Board of Trustees of Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences. The University shall inform all persons subject to this policy of its terms as soon as efficiently possible after its adoption and at regular intervals thereafter. 

Amendment: The Policy, including the Appendices, may be amended at any time by action of the Board of Trustees of Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences. 

 

Definitions:
N/A 

 

Procedure:
N/A 

 

Related Documents: 

Copyright Policy 

The following Appendices may be amended from time to time in such manner as may be agreed upon by the Chief Executive Officer and the Intellectual Property Committee. Appendices are available in Human Resources. 

Appendix 1. Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences Invention Disclosure Form. 

Appendix 2. Criteria to be applied by Intellectual Property Committee and the CEO in recommending and deciding the disposition of intellectual property rights of PNWU employees and students. 

Appendix 3. Administrative Procedures for the functioning of Intellectual Property Committee and the Chief Executive Officer in carrying out the PNWU Intellectual Property Policy. 

Appendix 4: Dispute Resolution Process.5[5] 

Said amendments shall be effective upon adoption and shall be reported by the Chief Executive Officer to the Board of Trustees of Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences at the next scheduled meeting of the Executive Committee or Plenary meeting of said Board, and shall be deemed permanent until modified by action of the Board of Trustees. 

This policy and procedure is not to be construed as an employment agreement or contract. Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences retains the right to amend or change any policy or procedure at any time without prior notice.