The Invention & Patent Policy was first approved in 1985 to encourage the development and commercialization of inventions arising from University research.
Invention rights covered by the Policy include both intellectual property rights (such as patent rights) as well as tangible property rights (such as biological materials).
The Policy is administered by the Office of Technology Commercialization and Business Development, under the jurisdiction of the Invention and Patent Committee, an eight-person group that includes five faculty members nominated by the Faculty Senate (one of whom serves as chair).
Appointed by Temple University's President, the IPC is charged with reviewing intellectual property policy matters including ownership, royalty distribution and conflicts of interest. Visit Section 6 of Temple's Invention and Patent Policy for further information on the IPC.
Visit the Faculty Senate site to see members of the University Invention and Patent Committee.
The Committee is charged with ensuring that the objectives of the Policy are met, but is not involved in deciding whether the rights to any particular invention are accepted by the University or in selecting commercialization strategies. Sometimes, the Committee issues Invention & Patent Policy Guidelines to assist in the implementation of the Policy.
Note: The Policy prohibits inventors from entering into any agreements (such as consulting agreements) that may be contrary to the Policy's objectives, particularly with respect to the preservation of the University's intellectual property rights.
