A proposed policy concerning the assignment of rights to patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets developed at NIU will be voted on at the University Council meeting next month.

Larry Sill, Technology Commercialization Center director, said the new NIU policy deals with how the rights of intellectual properties developed at the university are controlled.

The new NIU Intellectual Property Policy was developed by a presidential committee chaired by Sill.

Under the new policy, first rights to all intellectual property would be given to the property’s creator, Sill said.

He said an exception to this would be involvement of “extramural funding” in the development of the property. In his case, he said rights would be assigned first by NIU.

Extramural funding includes support from the government, a corporation or any other such agency.

Sills said, “There is a federal government requirement that a federally-funded property’s rights go to the university (involved).”

He said most outside-funded property work at NIU is supported by federal funds.

Sill said the system of giving rights to the property’s creator, except in the case of outside funding, was patterned after the policies of the University of Wisconsin at Madison and Stanford University.

This system is different from that of most colleges and universities, he said.

“Most institutions do not give first rights to property creators, but we feel this policy is a more acceptable practice. It gives the creator more protection,” Sill said.

The new policy will cover all university employees, including faculty, staff and students. It also covers others involved in NIU projects, such as visiting faculty.

However, the proposal would not apply to property developed by these people apart from NIU resources.

The committee also proposed NIU intellectual property royalties be split equally between the creator of the property, the creator’s department and a university fund established to support research and development at NIU.

Sill presented the highlights of his committee’s work in a University Council first reading last Wednesday.

Sill said, “Patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets are the four intellectual properties provided for under the U.S. Constitution. There is a constitutional mandate that refers to these as having property rights—that is, they can be traded or sold like any other property.”

Sill said the ten-member committee which developed the policy was created by NIU President John LaTourette over a year ago.

NIU has not had a policy covering all four intellectual policies in the past, Sill said. He said prior to this proposal, NIU had only a patent policy.

“This campus inherited its patent policy over 20 years ago with its coming under the Regency system. That policy was somewhat unfavorable to the faculty,” he said.

Sill said the old policy did not recognize the rights of inventors as well as the newly-proposed policy.

A revised, interim policy was created “about three years ago with outside consultation,” he said.

The proposed policy will be an action item subject to UC approval at the March 9 council meeting at the Clara Sperling Skyroom of the Holmes Student Center. The meeting will start at 3 p.m.