IC Policy for Student Intellectual Property

The College is committed to putting the ideas and inventions of its staff and students to practical use and maximising the value from any intellectual property (IP) derived for the benefit of all participants involved in their creation, development and exploitation. To achieve this the College provides a supportive environment that promotes the entrepreneurial spirit required to spawn new and innovative ideas. The key to this is developing a transparent process that identifies opportunities and gives equitable rewards to all parties involved. The College has an existing IP policy for staff that constitutes part of the terms and conditions of employment. This document, therefore, is intended to cover issues related to the registered student body of the College. It excludes those members of staff, such as Research or Analogous staff, who are registered for a degree (all staff are dealt with under their terms and conditions of employment regardless of whether they are registered as students and should refer to the policy documentation provided with their contract).

The initial presumption is that where a student has developed IP that they wish to commercialise, that the student owns IP. However, the following exceptions may apply:

1. Students who are sponsored: A condition of sponsorship may be that the sponsor may own any IP developed during the period of sponsorship. Sponsored students are, therefore, advised to check the terms of their sponsorship agreement.
2. Students working on a sponsored project as part of their coursework or research: In this case, the sponsor may own any IP that they develop. This will be part of the research contract and the supervisor or department prior to starting the project should inform students. In such cases they will be required assign any resultant IP to the College.
3. Students who are working on a project that derives from the IP of academic staff: This will mainly involve doctoral students but does not exclude undergraduates. If such projects result in a commercialisable opportunity that the College wishes to exploit, the student will be required to assign their IP to the College.

Where a student assigns their IP to the College, they will be treated as a member of staff for this purpose and will receive the same benefits as outlined in the College Awards to Inventors Policy unless a prior obligation has been made by the College to the sponsor such that no additional return from the IP can be allocated. If the student makes a significant contribution to the IP to be owned by the sponsor, IC Innovations would encourage the sponsor to reward the student directly.

If students are in any doubt they are advised to consult the Entrepreneurship Centre in the first instance. If there is a prima facie case for the IP to be owned by either the College or a sponsor, the student will be advised to discuss the matter with their department. This may result in the student withdrawing from participation in a project, for example.

In the event that a student considers the decision made by the department to be unfair, they can appeal to the Student IP Committee. This committee will comprise a student nominated by the President of the Student Union, an academic nominated by the Deputy Rector, the Managing Director of IC Innovations and a representative from IC Research Contracts. The committee will be chaired by a Faculty Dean and the student supported by a member of Entrepreneurship Centre or a member of Imperial College nominated by the student. The clerk to the committee will be nominated by the Academic Registrar. Final appeal will be to the Deputy Rector.

Sue Birley: 2004