​The ownership of intellectual property is often a controversial issue when negotiating 

• research agreements and

• collaborations.

 

Amongst the controversies:

• Should IP be owned by one party or the other?

• What influences that decision? 

• Can IP rights to one party be negotiated instead of ownership?

• What models are there for IP ownership in collaborations?

• What influences the choice of one model over another? 

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of particular models? 

 

Sometimes parties agree on joint ownership, in the expectation that joint ownership results in equal and mutual rights. 

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But joint ownership laws around the world affecting patents, copyright and confidential information more typically result in the parties having unequal rights. Often, joint ownership operates to the disadvantage of one joint owner, or even to the disadvantage of all the joint owners.

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How should ownership of IP be allocated:

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• Should it be based on inventorship?

• Should it be based on whose IP is improved?

• Should ownership be based on the type or category of IP?

• Should ownership be joint?

• What models are available to allocate ownership in a collaborative research relationship?

• What influences one model being preferred over another?

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Other ownership controversies arise in different relationships:

 

• Does a university always own the IP created by its academic scientists? 

• Does a company always own the IP created by its directors? 

• Does a university own the IP created by its students? 

• Who owns the IP created by a Visiting Scientist?

• Is an assignment by a Visiting Scientist effective?

 

This one day workshop focuses entirely on the controversial question of the ownership of intellectual property.

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