Intellectual Property FAQs

   Are funds received as research grants that are part of a license considered distributable royalties?
   Are written notebook records important?
   Can oral presentations or public disclosure affect patent rights?
   Can software be patented?
   Can software be released under an open source license?
   Do I need to disclose software I have developed?
   Do you license to start-up companies?
   Does the University ever take equity as part of the license?
   Does the University sell intellectual property rights?
   Does UL Lafayette have a standard format for research agreements?
   How are inventions from Federally sponsored research handled?
   How are inventions from privately sponsored research handled?
   How are inventions from State sponsored research handled?
   How do I copyright software?
   How do I disclose software?
   How do I get copies of patents?
   How does one go about obtaining a patent at UL Lafayette?
   How does the inventor participate in patent prosecution?
   How long does it take to receive a patent from initiation?
   How should a situation be handled when the potential private sponsor maintains that since it is paying for research, all intellectual property should belong to it?
   How will a publication affect patent rights?
   How will you market/license my discovery?
   I have an invention. What do I need to do?
   If an employee of UL Lafayette and an employee of an outside company or university invent something jointly, who owns the invention?
   Must I disclose my invention?
   What about publications?
   What are the types of software licenses?
   What are typical financial terms in a License?
   What can be patented?
   What constitutes a publication?
   What happens to my disclosure after it is submitted?
   What if one of the inventors is from another institution?
   What information is needed for an invention disclosure?
   What is a license?
   What is a Patent?
   What is a provisional patent application?
   What is an invention?
   What is the cost of obtaining a U. S. patent?
   What protection does copyright offer?
   What types of intellectual property (IP) does the Office of Innovation Management (OIM) address?
   When should I make my invention disclosure?
   Who conducts the licensing negotiations?
   Who is the author of software?
   Who is the inventor?
   Who owns an invention made on an employee's own time, without use of UL Lafayette facilities or funds, and that is in an area or field that has nothing to do with his/her UL Lafayette position?
   Who owns patents at UL Lafayette?
   Who owns UL Lafayette employee inventions?
   Who signs the license agreement?