1. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas is dedicated to teaching, research, and the extension of knowledge to the public. The production of new knowledge and the dissemination of both old and new knowledge are recognized as two major objectives. A byproduct of these objectives is the development of new and useful products and processes and the publication of scholarly works. Such activities (1) contribute to the professional development of the individuals involved, (2) enhance the reputation of the institutions concerned, (3) provide additional educational opportunities for participating students, and (4) promote the general welfare of the public at large.

2. Inventions and copyrightable works often come about because of activities of UNLV personnel who have been aided wholly or in part through the use of funds, facilities, and/or other resources of the University System. It becomes significant, therefore, to ensure the utilization of such inventions for the public good and to expedite their development and marketing. The rights and privileges, as well as the incentive, of the inventor or author/creator must be preserved so that the abilities of the inventor or author/creator and those of other UNLV personnel may be further encouraged and stimulated.

3. The UCCSN Board of Regents acknowledges that faculty, staff and students who are employees of the Board regularly prepare for publication, usually through individual effort and initiative, articles, pamphlets, books and other scholarly works which may be subject to copyright and which may generate income. Publication may also result from work supported either partially or completely by the institution. With the advent of innovative techniques and procedures the variety and number of materials which might be created in a university community have increased significantly, causing the ownership of such copyrightable works to become increasingly complex.

4. The foregoing considered, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, does hereby establish the following policy with respect to inventions or intellectual property resulting from the work of its faculties, staff and students. This policy is in accordance with UCCSN policy, Title 4, Chapter 12, of the Board of Regents Handbook.

1. "Intellectual property" is a category of intangible property which includes patents and copyrights.

2. The term "inventions" shall refer to all inventions, discoveries, computer-based programs and media, processes, methods, uses, products or combinations whether or not patented or patentable at any time under the Federal Patent Act as now existing or hereafter amended or supplemented.

3. "Copyrightable works" shall include the following:

(1) books, journal articles, texts, glossaries, bibliographies, study guides, laboratory manuals, syllabi, tests and proposals;

(2) lectures, musical or dramatic compositions, unpublished scripts;

(3) films, filmstrips, charts, transparencies and other video or audio broadcasts;

(4) programmed instructional materials;

(5) computer-based programs and media; and

(6) other materials or works which qualify for protection under the copyright laws of the United States or other protective statutes whether or not copyrightable thereunder.

4. "Net income" is defined as income received by UNLV from a UNLV owned invention or copyrightable work less all payments or obligations directly attributable to patenting, copyrighting, marketing, licensing, protecting or administering the invention or work.

5. "Personnel" refers to part-time and full-time members of the faculty, staff, all other agents and employees, and undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows of UNLV.

6. "Work for Hire" is defined by the copyright laws of the United States, and is used herein, as a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment.

7. "Textbook" is to be construed in a broad sense to include computer-based programs and media with information content which synthesizes knowledge in specified academic disciplines and subdisciplines.

8. "Computer-based programs and media" include software or computed code or their representation in forms such as CD-ROM, video disk, compressed video, web-based material, and the like.

When an invention or a copyrightable work is developed by UNLV personnel or others participating in UNLV programs using significant UNLV resources such as facilities, materials, equipment, personnel, funds or other resources under the control of or administered by UNLV, UNLV will own the invention or copyrightable work in accordance with the provisions of this policy.

1. For the purposes of developing inventions or copyrightable works, UNLV does not construe the provision of office or library facilities or traditional desktop personal computers as constituting significant use of UNLV space or facilities, nor does it construe the payment of salary from unrestricted accounts as constituting the significant use of UNLV funds, except in those situations where the funds were specifically paid to support the development of inventions or copyrightable works.

2. Textbooks developed in conjunction with class teaching are also excluded from the "significant use" category, unless such textbooks were developed using UNLV administered funds paid specifically to support textbook development.

3. Generally, an invention or a copyrightable work will not be considered to have been developed using UNLV funds or facilities if:

(a) only a minimal amount of unrestricted funds have been used; and

(b) the invention or copyrightable work has been created outside of the assigned duties of the inventor or author/creator; and

(c) only a minimal amount of time has been spent using significant UNLV facilities or only insignificant facilities and equipment have been utilized; and

(d) the development of the invention or copyrightable work has been made on the personal, unpaid time of the inventor or author/creator.

1. An invention disclosure should be submitted when something new and useful has been conceived or developed, or when unusual, unexpected, or unobvious research results have been achieved or utilized. It is the responsibility of the inventor to ensure that a disclosure is submitted within 30 days of discovery. All co-inventors must be signatories to the disclosure. Disclosure forms, instructions, and preparation assistance are available from the Office of Sponsored Programs.

2. Determination of rights and equities in inventions (patentable or not) shall be as follows:

a. Except as otherwise specified by UNLV in writing, inventions shall belong to UNLV if conceived or reduced to practice:

(1) by an employee of UNLV as a result of the employee's duties,

(2) under a sponsored project agreement with an external entity, or

(3) through the significant use, by any person, of UNLV resources such as facilities, materials, equipment, personnel, funds, or other resources under the control of or administered by UNLV.

b. Inventors acquire ownership in inventions which are:

(1) not the result of a UNLV employee's duties or subject to the terms of agreements with research sponsors or other third parties, and

(2) do not involve the significant use of resources administered by UNLV. (B/R 6/91)

c. In the event there is a question about an invention as to whether UNLV has an ownership claim, the UNLV Intellectual Property Administrator will review the invention disclosure and determine ownership. Such disclosure is without prejudice to the inventor's ownership claim. In determining ownership interest in an invention, a designated official may determine that UNLV has no property interest in the invention because its conception and reduction to practice was unrelated to the inventor's UNLV duties, involved only insignificant use of institutional resources or for such other reasons as may be set forth in the guidelines.

d. Sponsor-Supported Efforts. Prior to signing any agreement with a non-UNLV sponsor that may result in or which deals with patent rights or the like, where UNLV time, facilities, materials, equipment, personnel, funds or other resources are involved, the agreement will be reviewed for appropriate intellectual property provisions. If necessary, modification to these provisions will be negotiated with the sponsor.

1. Copyright is the ownership and control of the intellectual property in original works of authorship which is subject to copyright law. In contrast to a patent which protects the "idea," copyright covers the "artistic expression" in the particular literary work, musical work, computer-based program or media, video or motion picture or sound recording, photograph, sculpture and so forth, in which the "expression" is embodied, illustrated or explained, but does not protect any idea, process, concept, discovery or the like.

It is the policy of UNLV that all rights in copyright shall remain with the author/creator unless the work is a work for hire (and copyright vests in UNLV under copyright law), is supported by a direct allocation of funds through UNLV for the pursuit of a specific project, is commissioned by UNLV, is created with the significant use of UNLV administered resources, or is created in the performance of a sponsored project.

2. Except as may be provided otherwise in this policy, UNLV does not claim ownership of books, articles and similar works, the intended purpose of which is to disseminate the results of academic research or scholarly study. Such works include those of students created in the course of their education, such as dissertations, papers, and articles. Similarly, UNLV claims no ownership of popular nonfiction, novels, poems, musical compositions or other works of artistic imagination which are not institutionally commissioned works or which were not created with the significant use of UNLV administered resources. If title to copyright in works defined within this paragraph vests in UNLV by law, UNLV will, upon request and to the extent consistent with its legal obligations, convey copyright to the creators of such works.

3. UNLV shall retain ownership of works created as institutional rather than personal efforts -- that is, works created for UNLV purposes in the course of the author/creator's employment. For instance, work assigned to staff programmers is "work for hire" as defined by law (regardless of whether the work is in the course of sponsored research, UNLV sponsored research or other activities), as is software and computer-based media developed for UNLV purposes, and UNLV owns all rights, intellectual and financial, in such works.

4. Except as excluded under Section 3, UNLV owns all rights, intellectual and financial, in copyrightable works created in the course of scholarly projects specifically funded by UNLV sponsored agreements or other UNLV funds. Prior to execution of any agreement with a non-UNLV sponsor that may result in or which deals with copyrightable works, where any UNLV time, facilities, materials, personnel or resources are involved, the agreement will be reviewed for appropriate intellectual property provisions. If necessary, modification to these provisions will be negotiated with the sponsor.

5. Under the copyright laws of the United States, commissioned works of non-employees are owned by the author/creator and not by the commissioning party, unless there is a written agreement to the contrary. UNLV personnel should, therefore, require UNLV commissioned contractors to agree in writing that ownership to copyrightable materials is assigned to UNLV. Examples of copyrightable works which UNLV may commission non-employees to prepare are:

a. Illustrations or designs.

b. Artistic works.

c. Architectural or engineering drawings.

d. Forwards and introductions.

e. Computer software and computer-based media.

f. Reports by consultants or subcontractors.

g. Videotapes and CD-ROM disks.

6. Any videotaping, broadcasting or televising of classroom, laboratory or other instruction, and any associated use of computer-based equipment or media, must be approved in advance by the appropriate institutional administrators, who shall determine the conditions under which such activity may occur and resolve questions of ownership, distribution, and policy.

7. In the case of course materials created and/or packaged in conjunction with Distance Education for electronic delivery of UNLV courses to remote sites, UNLV shall retain ownership. In the absence of a written agreement at or prior to developing materials for a Distance Education course, any income from the sale or distribution of such materials outside of UNLV classes taught by the author/creator(s) for which the author/creator(s) is(are) remunerated in the course of his/her(their) duties shall be distributed as provided in Section 7.

8. UNLV in all events shall have the right to perform its obligations with respect to copyrightable works, data, prototypes and other intellectual property under any contract, grant or other arrangements with third parties, including sponsored research agreements, license agreements and the like.

9. Except as provided in Section 3, UNLV resources are to be used solely for UNLV purposes and not for personal gain or personal commercial advantage, or for any other non-UNLV purposes.

1. Institutional procedures for the development of inventions, copyrightable works and intellectual property are as follows:

a. The UNLV Intellectual Property Committee (IPC) is appointed by the President to develop policies and procedures for handling inventions, copyrightable works and intellectual property. UNLV’s IPC is comprised of a subcommittee of the University Research Council plus a representative from Finance and Administration. This committee makes recommendations through the UNLV Intellectual Property Officer (IPO) to the President regarding procedures, guidelines, and responsibilities for the administration and development of inventions, copyrightable works, intellectual property and such other matters as the President shall determine. The committee reports annually through the IPO to the President and to the Chancellor on inventions and copyrightable works disclosed and the disposition thereof.

b. The UNLV Intellectual Property Officer, also appointed by the President, is responsible for the administration and disposition of inventions, copyrightable works and intellectual property. It is the duty of this Intellectual Property Administrator to determine ownership of inventions, and copyrightable works, develop terms of agreements for with non-UNLV sponsors, inventors and authors/creators and to resolve disputes among co-inventors and co-authors/co-creators.

c. When income is to be shared, all net income received on inventions and copyrightable works subject to this policy shall be divided with the inventor(s) or the author(s)/creator(s) on the basis stated in Section 7, it being understood that if there should be a plurality of inventors, the portion accruing to the inventors or authors/creators will be distributed on an equal share basis unless specifically agreed otherwise in writing by all the inventors or authors/creators. The inventor(s) or author(s)/creator(s) at or before the time of filing a patent application or copyright must agree in writing to any other terms and conditions negotiated with the institution. In the case of a plurality of inventors or authors/creators, all individual inventors or authors/creators must sign the same agreement.

d. With respect to inventions, the Intellectual Property Officer may pursue any combination of the following courses of action:

(1) To develop and manage a licensing program through an independent patent assistance organization so as to secure competent evaluation of inventions or discoveries, expeditious filing of applications for patents and aggressive licensing and administration of patents; or

(2) To develop and manage a licensing program through an affiliated nonprofit corporation; or

(3) To develop and manage independently an institutional licensing program; or

(4) To release an invention to which the institution has title or an interest to the inventor for management and development as a private venture after the execution of an agreement providing for the division of income.

2. In the event of a disagreement as to the ownership and use of an invention or intellectual property, decisions may be appealed to the Intellectual Property Officer, through the IPC, to the President.

The inventor or the author/creator(s) shall receive 60 percent of the net income from each invention or copyrightable work. The inventor's or the author/creator's academic/research unit or department shall receive 25 percent of the net income, and the remaining 15 percent shall accrue to an institutional account under the control of the Intellectual Property Officer. The institutional account shall be used to stimulate and promote technology transfer at UNLV.