FAQs - Intellectual Property
Written by Michelle Stickler, ORP

Q. Who owns the intellectual property (IP) contained in a graduate student's thesis or dissertation?

A. The majority of graduate students sign an intellectual property agreement upon enrolling at Penn State. This agreement assigns IP rights for all research-related work to the University. Thus, the IP generated from research a graduate student performs at Penn State, including for a thesis or dissertation, belongs to the University. However, some graduate students who are seeking professional degrees such as in medicine, law, or an MBA, do not sign an intellectual property agreement because they are not attending Penn State primarily in a research capacity.

Q. If a student invents or discovers something of value as part of a for-credit course assignment, who owns the intellectual property rights to the invention or discovery?

A. When a student - graduate or undergraduate - develops intellectual property as part of a for-credit course, the IP belongs to him/her. The same holds true even for graduate students who work as graduate assistants and receive stipends that cover tuition costs. However, the for-credit course exclusion does not include "research courses" in which graduate students enroll for thesis or dissertation work. Any IP developed through a "research course" would be subject to the same agreement signed by graduate students upon enrolling in the University.

Additionally, when a student enrolled in a for-credit course works on a problem submitted by an external sponsor (company, institute, or non-profit), the student owns the IP unless the sponsor has the student sign an appropriate intellectual property agreement assigning all rights to the sponsor.

Q. What intellectual property rights does an undergraduate student who is working in a research lab on campus have to any IP resulting from the research being conducted?

A. The answer is - it depends. Undergraduate students do not sign intellectual property agreements, so faculty are encouraged to be cautious when undergraduate students work in their research laboratories.

• a) If the undergraduate student is being paid to work in the lab, then any IP resulting from that work belongs to the University.
• b) If the student is working in the lab simply to gain experience without being paid, then any IP developed by the student belongs to him/her. If, as a faculty member, you think the student may develop valuable intellectual property, you might consider asking the student to sign an intellectual property agreement before allowing him/her to do any work. Sample forms are available in RAG 13 - Special Student Intellectual Property Forms.
  
  However, the student cannot be forced to sign an intellectual property agreement. When the student does not want to sign the IP form, he/she must be presented with another option to participate in an activity that does not require signing an IP form.
• c) If the work the undergraduate student is doing is required as part of a for-credit course, then the intellectual property developed by the student belongs to him/her.

Q. If a department pays an undergraduate student to develop a new departmental website, who owns the new website design?

A. If the department did not have the student sign a contract that includes a statement of work, payment specifications, and ownership details, then the student owns the website design. Thus, departments should formalize work being done by students with a contractual agreement.

Q. If a company sponsors a contest for works of art around a subject the company has chosen, who owns the winning artwork - the faculty member organizing the contest, the student artist, or the company?

A. The student artist retains all ownership rights for the work of art. Neither the sponsor nor the faculty member can claim any ownership rights. If the sponsor company wanted to own the winning artwork, the company would need to designate the artwork as "work for hire" and have the student artists sign agreements outlining the ownership terms should their artwork win the contest.

Related PSU Guidelines

RAG 12 - Faculty Guidance on Student Intellectual Property Rights
RAG 13 - Special Student Intellectual Property Agreement Forms