Undergraduate research and intellectual property rights

Abstract

Abstract-Most universities today have developed intellectual property policies which clearly establish ownership rights in any commercially valuable process developed by professors and graduate students in a university laboratory. Increasingly, undergraduates are also being encouraged to take an active part in research since this often encourages them to go on to graduate school. It is also, in itself, a valuable learning experience. However, little thought has been given to the ownership rights of these undergraduate researchers. Universities must recognize that undergraduates may have ownership rights in research and must deal with this fact. A number of strategies for doing so are presented.

Value and structure of research experiences for undergraduate wildlife students

“…If the URE is being taken for credit, formal requirements (e.g., required presentations and papers) should be discussed. As in graduate student studies, undergraduate students and mentors should clearly establish expectations related to publication and presentation of data (Nordheden and Hoeflich 1999). To assist this process, Monte (2001) developed a set of guidelines he provided to undergraduate students during a preliminary meeting.…”

A Blueprint for Supporting Undergraduates as Researchers through Campus-Led Mentoring Initiatives

“…In addition to this study, impressive short-term benefits to undergradu ate students from mentoring-based research programs have recently been reported. These benefits include valuable learning experiences in active research situations with professors (for example , Nordheden & Hoeflich, 1999); learning beyond the standard curriculum in student-faculty community partnerships (for example, O'Clock & Rooney, 1996); and suc cessful living-learning arrangements that offer students cohesive research communities that integrate courses with research initiatives (for example, University of Michigan, 2000).…”

Faculty Views of Undergraduate Intellectual Property Policies and Practices

“…The most serious issue was focused on the process of applying the unclear policy. As the literature mentions (Nordheden & Hoeflich, 1999), faculty members recognize that at many universities, existing intellectual property policies do not specifically pertain to undergraduate students and are applied as rules of thumb.…”

“…While more attention is being paid to the development of IP in some classes, it is unclear how widespread undergraduate and faculty involvement is and/or what issues they face. We also know fairly little about how intellectual property policies and practices are actually applied to undergraduate students (Nordheden & Hoeflich, 1999). Therefore, we do not know how much emphasis to place on it as a potential learning objective, or the specific issues and concerns that faculty have, which could be addressed through policies and practices.…”

“…This very different arrangement or transaction requires IP policies and practices that differ from those directed at paid employees of the university. Nordheden and Hoeflich (1999) described the reasons why students might run into issues with intellectual property. First, it is not customary for undergraduates to be asked to sign agreements allocating intellectual property rights prior to beginning student research.…”