Intellectual Property

Securing a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ensures that others cannot make, use, or sell your intellectual property without your permission. Patents can be awarded to a material, a new use of an existing material, a process or method, or an improvement to any of these—so long as it can be demonstrated that the material, process, method, etc. is useful, not previously known, and not obvious to other professionals in the field.

Not every discovery—even those that can be successfully commercialized—requires a patent, though. There are complex legal requirements that determine whether an invention is patentable, which should be addressed by an experienced patent attorney. IU employs in-house and external patent counsel to ensure exemplary patent strategy, drafting, and prosecution.

Copyrights typically apply to works of art, books, software, and other intellectual property that may be easily reproduced. Copyright exists the moment the work is created. IU may register copyrights with the U.S. Copyright Office before licensing them, but registration is not necessary in the early stages of commercialization.

IU owns the patentable intellectual property created by anyone using university resources, including individuals being paid through IU, using funding administered through IU, or using university laboratory space to make the invention. This includes visiting scientists and volunteers.

Copyrighted works are divided into two categories: Traditional Works of Scholarship and University Works.

Rights to Traditional Works of Scholarship, which include scholarly publications, books, and works of music and art, typically remain with the creator of the work.

IU owns University Works, which are copyrighted works that are created by nonacademic employees, funded by external grants, or commissioned by the university, or that have a funding agreement that indicates any copyrights will be considered University Works.