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Intellectual Property (Copyright, Trademark, Patent Ownership as related to students)

This policy is in compliance with the Alabama State Board of Education Policy 321.01—Copyright, Trademark, and Patent Ownership. Definition: An Intellectual Property (IP) is a trademark, copyright, or patent resulting from the creation of any instructional resource or technology. (Examples are copyrights from textbooks and literary works, patents from invention of machines and/or software, and trademarked materials such as Xerox, SlimFast, and IBM.)

Ownership:

  • If the IP is created by the student on his/her own time and without the use of the College resources, then ownership of the trademark, copyright, or patent belongs to the person creating the property.
  • If the IP is created by the student partially on his/her time and partially on the College’s time using College resources (i.e., laboratories, library), then ownership of the trademark, copyright, or patent belongs to Enterprise State Community College.

Royalties:

Where a marketable IP is created, the student shall share in royalties.

  • Enterprise State Community College and the student who creates a marketable IP will be treated equally and on a fair basis with regard to any compensation supplemental to the pay of the individual where appropriate.
  • Any financial compensation made to the student shall be made solely from the proceeds derived from the sales of the IP and not from any other state or federal funds.
  • The portion of any royalty received by the student will be in direct relationship to the verifiable amount of personal time, resources, and funds that are reasonable and necessary for the creation of the product.
  • Enterprise State Community College and the student must enter into an agreement for compensation prior to the creation of the product. This agreement must be approved in writing by the Chancellor of the Alabama Community College System prior to payment of any compensation, according to the Alabama State Board of Education Policy.
  • The compensation agreement between the College and the student must contain a caveat that the agreement is not necessarily in compliance with, and is not an exemption from, the Alabama Ethics Law. Thus, within ten (10) days of the execution of an agreement, a copy must be filed with the Alabama Ethics Commission.