Intellectual property (IP) refers to innovations that the law protects from unauthorized use by others. Main forms of IP include patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets. In an international research setting, IP protects the following: drugs, devices, software codes, curriculum, reagents, and data. Faculty and staff should report inventions and disclose Intellectual Property that may need to be protected through The Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Patents are contracts between the governments and inventors: In the case of the U.S., disclosure in exchange for the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale the invention in the U.S., or importing the invention into the U.S. In addition, patents are geographically restricted (filed country by country where protection is desired) and administered by a country's patent office. Therefore, U.S. patents do not protect IP outside of the United States. Further, publicly disclosing an innovation before appropriate patent application filing may prevent an innovator's ability to obtain patent protection on that discovery in international settings.
U.S. Copyrights are a form of protection provided by U.S. law to the authors of "original works of authorship," including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, both published and unpublished. Copyright protection automatically arises once an original effort has been fixed in a tangible medium and can be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office of the Library of Congress.
Protection against unauthorized use in a particular country depends on the laws of that country. Many countries offer protection to foreign works under certain conditions that have been greatly simplified by international copyright treaties and conventions. The United States has copyright relations with most countries throughout the world, and as a result of these agreements, we honor each other's citizens' copyrights.
Trademarks and Service Marks refer to words, names, symbols, devices, or any combination of these used, or intended to be used, in commerce to identify and distinguish the goods or services of one manufacturer or seller from those sold by others, and to indicate the source of the goods or services. Trademarks can be renewed forever as long as they are being used in commerce. Trademark rights are geographically restricted and are administered by each country's trademark office.
The Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship is available for any questions related to intellectual property, patents, copyrights, or trademarks.