SUNY IP Webinars

We are pleased to share for review the latest draft of SUNY’s Intellectual Property Policy, revised and strengthened after extensive consultation with our Vice Presidents for Research, faculty, students, and those involved with technology transfer. On June 8, 2015, the Patents & Inventions Policy Board unanimously voted to approve the attached policy proposal.  The revised policy is expected to come before the Board of Trustees in the fall.  Currently, we are seeking any additional comments from members of the SUNY Research Community.

Our goal with this revision is to ensure that SUNY’s policies are consistent with best practices nationally.  In support of SUNY serving as New York’s premier economic driver, the new policy aims to strengthen public-private partnerships and remove barriers to engaging with industry.  The new policy also significantly empowers campuses to make local decisions relating to intellectual property matters.      

To ensure that you are informed about the proposed policy, we are attaching one .pdf file that contains multiple resources: a fact sheet on the proposed changes; a copy of latest draft of the policy; guidelines for management; procedures for disclosure and management; and the external disclosure form.  

We have scheduled two informational webinars for Wednesday, July 29 and Monday, August 17 to review the proposed policy and give you an opportunity to ask any questions you may have.

• Recognize the changing landscape of technology research, development, and transfer practices in government and industry.  It codifies many positive practices that have been in place at SUNY and the RF for over thirty years.
• Adopt a best practices approach to the ownership and management of patentable inventions, and eliminates confusing and ambiguous terminology while clarifying ownership rights and increasing transparency in the disclosure process.
• Promote maximum flexibility for campuses to make business decisions when working with external partners – always including consultation with faculty inventors.
• Enable campuses to recover the costs of patenting from gross royalties before distributing proceeds to inventors.  This small change contributes substantially to the sustainability of our patent program while preserving SUNY’s position as an institution with one of the most generous royalty-sharing policies in the country.
• Encourage innovation and entrepreneurship among our greatest asset – our students.
• Create a swift process for the handling of any dispute. 

• Change the percentage (40%) of royalties to which faculty are individually entitled to receive as excess compensation under the current policy.
• Narrow the circumstances under which faculty can create inventions outside of SUNY employment and outside of SUNY facilities.
• Change the ownership and disposition of faculty copyright in course materials, textbooks, syllabi, or other instructional content.  This area remains governed by SUNY’s existing Copyright Policy.

With this new policy, SUNY is becoming a full and active partner in the innovation economy not only by taking the lead in committing ourselves to excellence in service to the SUNY community and the public, but also by formally adopting proven best practices.