Intellectual property rule

Please note that the information below is based on the University of Sydney (Intellectual Property) Rule 2002, which is currently being revised. For the latest version of this Rule, check Policy Online: sydney.edu.au/policy

Intellectual property

Intellectual property is a term which refers to a collection of specific rights which attach to the results of intellectual activity, including those in the industrial, commercial, scientific, literary and artistic fields.

The University’s Intellectual Property Policy is expressed as the University of Sydney (Intellectual Property) Rule 2002 (IP Rule), and can be also found at Policy Online:
www.usyd.edu.au/senate/policies/Intellectual_Property_Rule.pdf

The Guide to the Rule is included at Appendix 7.

The rights and responsibilities of students differ from those of members of the University’s general and academic staff. The University acknowledges in its current IP Rule that students own any intellectual property that they create pursuant to their studies unless they agree to some other arrangement made under a contract.

The information below pertains solely to students. Students who are also members of staff should ensure they are aware of the different provisions of the IP Rule which apply for staff and students. Which provisions of the IP Rule apply in such circumstances will depend on whether the person undertaking the work is acting in the course of their employment at the University, or as a student.

There may be occasions when, in return for benefits, you would like to assign some of your intellectual property to the University. Your participation in some research projects, such as industry-sponsored projects, may be subject to an assignment of your IP to the University in return for the same benefits received by staff members. Sometimes this is required as a result of contractual obligations the University has made to third parties.

It is important that all such IP assignment and/or scholarship agreements be made to the mutual satisfaction of all of the parties. Issues such as ownership and the distribution of benefits from the use of some intellectual property, need to be resolved before your participation in the project begins.

Students should note that a requirement to assign intellectual property to another party in exchange for a scholarship may make that scholarship subject to income tax.

As already stated, under the University’s current IP Rule students own the intellectual property that they create unless an explicit written agreement to transfer it to someone else is made. No agreement to any transfer or restrictions should be made without you taking the opportunity to seek advice.

General advice on assigning your IP to the University can be obtained from your supervisor or your student representatives. Advice on what is required to assign your IP to the University can be obtained from staff of the University’s Sydnovate Office or Office of General Counsel.

However, it is important to note that University lawyers and staff are not able to provide you with legal advice on whether you should assign your IP rights to the University or the implications of an assignment. In relation to such issues the University suggests you consider obtaining independent legal advice from a third party, such as a solicitor familiar with these issues.

Important issues for students relating to intellectual property arise in the consideration of copyright, inventions, and involvement with confidential research projects. A brief summary of the major issues relating to each of these is given in the following paragraphs.

In the process of working with each other, students and other researchers, such as their supervisors, may jointly create new intellectual property. In such circumstances, the joint owners of the intellectual property need to work cooperatively together to ensure the best outcomes from its use.

Copyright

Generally the author of a work is the owner of copyright in it and this is the case for a thesis produced by a postgraduate student. In the event that there are multiple authors to a work, each is entitled to exercise all rights in relation to the whole work.

Copyright in a written work is automatically established as soon as it is created, and in Australia the author does not have to take any steps to bring this about.

It is the practice of the University not to enter into collaborative or contract research agreements which involve students and which would prevent either the submission and examination of the thesis during the period set by Senate or the inclusion of any necessary material.

This said, there are provisions within the University of Sydney (Amendment Act) Rule 1999 (as amended) for requesting that part of a thesis or the thesis in its entirety be withheld from public availability in the University Library for a period.

Once a thesis is lodged in the library it may be used, but only under the normal conditions of scholarly fair dealing for the purposes of research, criticism or review. In particular no results or conclusions should be extracted from it nor should it be copied or closely paraphrased in whole or in part without the written consent of the author. Proper written acknowledgment must be made for any assistance obtained from the thesis.

Candidates should ensure that they are aware of their rights and responsibilities under copyright legislation including the concept of 'fair dealing' in respect to copying copyright material.

For further information about copyright, contact your supervisor, the Sydnovate Office, Office of General Counsel, SUPRA, or a solicitor.

Information provided in the guide to copyright at sydney.edu.au may also be of assistance.

Confidential research and public availability of theses

The statutes and regulations of the University require that a thesis be publicly available in the University Library after examination. In special circumstances, public availability of a thesis may be delayed in accordance with a schedule and procedures established by the University’s Senate and detailed in the University of Sydney (Amendment Act) Rule 1999 (as amended), which are included as an Appendix of this Handbook

A candidate involved in work which is funded by a contractual arrangement should ensure that he or she is fully informed about any conditions which could restrict disclosure of information.

If you develop new intellectual property which requires registration to ensure its protection, such as patenting, then you should seek advice from your supervisor or the Business Liaison Office as to any restriction which proceeding to register this new intellectual property may place on your thesis and its publication.

Postgraduate students who are involved in contract or collaborative research need to have a clear understanding of any restriction or delay to publication that is required by the sponsor of the research prior to commencing the work.

A student’s supervisor, Head of School and the staff of Sydnovate are ready to assist students who are attempting to evaluate the opportunities and restrictions presented through participation in a collaborative project. In no case should the submission and examination of theses be delayed beyond the period set by the Senate, nor should any necessary material be excluded.

The sponsor can request that a thesis is submitted in confidence to examiners for evaluation and the public availability be restricted for a short time if it is agreed that public availability would adversely affect the commercialisation of the results of the project. Such a delay will require an approval by the Graduate Studies Committee.

The application to the committee should be made through your head of department and faculty. The application must contain adequate justification for the request.

Inventions

For the purposes of this section, inventions includes patents, innovation patents, circuit layouts, trade marks, designs, Plant Breeders’ Rights, Plant Variety Rights, copyright in all forms and know-how. The capacity to exercise exclusive rights in relation to an invention, such as the sole right to use it, may require explicit registration, such as a patent application.

The University will assist any student in reviewing the opportunities for commercially exploiting an invention that the student has produced in the course of his or her study and that the student owns.

Although initial advice is both confidential and free, any action taken by the University to protect and commercialise an invention created by a student will require the student to first assign the invention to the University. Contact should be made with the Sydnovate Office after discussing the matter with your supervisor and Head of School.

Authorship and acknowledgement guidelines

Agreement should be reached between the student and the supervisor concerning authorship of publications and acknowledgement of contributions during and after the candidature. There should be open and mutual recognition of the candidate’s and supervisor’s contribution on all published work arising from the project.

Both ethically and legally, all people who have made a substantial contribution to the production of work should be acknowledged.

It is suggested that the question of acknowledgement, including the likelihood of co-authorship, be discussed at the beginning of a project with all who are likely to participate. Agreement should be reached then, but decisions may need to be reviewed as the project proceeds.

Co-authorship

As a guiding principle it is understood that a co-author would have an excellent mastery of the subject.

Academic rank should neither preclude nor necessitate co-authorship. Special attention should be paid to the contributions of postgraduate students. They should be co-authors, as should others, if they have contributed significantly to the project.

Other acknowledgements

It is recommended that acknowledgement of contributions below the level of co-authorship be detailed in proportion to the importance to the project.

The following lists were designed to draw attention to contributions which should be considered for acknowledgement. They should be consulted for formulating decisions on co-authorship and other acknowledgement.

People who may be involved in the execution of a project include:

• animal attendant
• archivist
• collaborator
• computer personnel
• director/manager/coordinator
• electron microscopist
• laboratory assistant
• laboratory manager
• photographer
• postgraduate
• professional officer
• research assistant
• technical officer
• typist
• undergraduate.

Their areas of involvement in a project might include:

• initiation of project: concept formation; review of area/topic; integration of first two above/discussion; writing funding proposals
• pilot work: design and analysis strategy; execution and analysis of pilot study
• equipment: development of procedures/devices/measures for evaluation of experiments; designing technical equipment; building technical equipment
• computer programs and database system: development of original programs/tables; designing or adapting alternative programs/tables; computer/statistical construction and analysis
• execution of complete project: refer to list of people who may be involved
• analysis: analysis strategy; computation/analysis
• writing up: designing paper; literature review; empirical evidence; drafting paper, including bibliography; draft revision; final write up; illustrations; typing; index (for books).

Contacts

Sydnovate
Level 5, SIT Building (J12)
Cleveland St and City Rd
University of Sydney NSW 2006
Phone: 9351 4000
Fax: 9351 3636
sydney.edu.au/sydnovate