Intellectual Property Basics: What Rules Apply to Faculty, Staff, and Student Work Product? Dave Broome Vice Chancellor and General Counsel October 15, 2015

Agenda What is Intellectual Property? Overview of basic types of IP protection Why should I care?

What is Intellectual Property (IP) Intellectual Property (IP) is a group of legal rights that provides protection over things people create or invent. Typical methods of protection: Trade Secrets Copyrights Trademarks Patents

Why I Should I Care About IP University Policy Protection from liability Deter others from stealing your or the University’s work / ideas.

Methods of Protecting IP Contracts Copyrights Trademarks Trade Secrets Patents

Copyright “Expression” Art, Writing, Music, Movies, etc… Any “work” reduced to a tangible medium of expression

Copyright Free and Automatic Protection is automatic as soon as the work is reduced to a tangible medium of expression Registering Copyright Aspects of Protection Scope - Narrow Term Life of authors + 70 years Corporate (Work for Hire) years or 95 years from 1 st publication, whichever come first. Commercial Benefits Supports entire industries Music Movies etc.

Trademark Identification of Source Any word, name, symbol, or device or any combination thereof used in commerce or which a person has a bona fide intention to use in commerce Examples: Nike® Coke® Color Brown (UPS) Sounds – Windows Start-Up, NBC Chimes, etc. Symbols ® - a Registered Trademark ™ -brands a product ℠ -brands a service

Trademark Relatively inexpensive to obtain Protection lasts as long as the mark is used in commerce Use it or lose it… Commercial Benefits Powerful barrier to entry Price support Can lose rights if name becomes “generic” or used by unlicensed entity Must police use

Trade Secret Information that not known outside of an organization that provides a competitive advantage Examples: Coca-Cola KFC WD-40 Guarded in a bank vault Company mixes the formula in only three facilities to maintain the secret

Trade Secret Relatively low cost to gain protection Must take precautions to maintain secrecy Protection lasts as long as the secret remains a secret Enforcement… Enforcement complicated by variation in law from state to state

Patent Protects implementation of ideas Article of Manufacture System Composition of Matter Process (e.g., process of making or using) Types of Patents Utility Design Plant

Patent Relatively expensive to obtain Initial filing Prosecution Limited term of protection 20 years from filing (generally) Commercial Benefits Exclusivity Monopoly Pricing Licensing

Patent What is the standard for getting a patent? New Useful Non-obvious What do you get if you meet the standard? Right to exclude others from the invention for a limited time Not a right to use the invention What do you give up by getting a patent? Your patent must teach others how to make and use the invention What do you risk by not patenting? Someone else can patent it and exclude you from using it.

Patent Damages for Infringement Injunction Lost Profits Reasonable Royalty Cost of Litigation Huge

University Policies University Policy 301, Patent Policy University Policy 315, Copyright Policy

UNC Charlotte Patent Policy Policy applies to employees and students as a Condition of Employment/Enrollment University owns inventions by faculty, staff and students Resulting from University Research, or Involving use of University time, facilities, staff or materials “Own time” inventions Disclosure required Office of Technology Transfer Royalty Revenue Sharing

UNC Charlotte Copyright Policy Faculty/EPA Non-Faculty Traditional or Non-Directed work Author-owned, unless Exceptional Use of University Resources Shop Right Some multi-author works= university ownership Directed Works= University Ownership Sponsored/Externally Contracted works. If K requires University ownership=University owns Otherwise, Author-owned; University Shop Right

UNC Charlotte Copyright Policy SPA Employees Work for Hire University Owned Student Works Student owns Shop Right

Fair Use The purpose and character of the use, including whether the use is a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; The nature of the copyrighted work; The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

Works Subject to Both Copyright and Patent Policies OTT Decides whether to protect as Patent If so, Author assigns copyright to UNC Charlotte

QUESTIONS?