FAQ

For Faculty/Librarian/Archivist/Post-doctoral Fellow (Creator-owned)

a. Was the Intellectual Property (IP) created in the course of your employment?

For example:

1. Did you use, other than incidentally, institutional resources (facilities, equipment, materials etc.) to create the IP?
2. Are there any agreements with third parties that include Western as a party and relates to the creation of the IP?
3. Did you receive funding from any third parties that is managed by or held in an account at Western to create the IP?
4. If applicable, will the IP be considered in your annual performance evaluation?
5. Will the IP be associated with the name or brand of Western?

If you answered yes to any of the above or are unsure, please go to b. below.

b. Do you wish to exploit the Intellectual Property for commercial gain?

For example:

1. Are you planning to use the IP to generate revenue? Do you plan to license, assign or sell ownership of the IP to a third party in exchange for something of monetary value (cash, royalties, shares/stocks, etc.)?

If you answered yes to any of a. AND b. above AND the Intellectual Property is not copyrighted work, please download the appropriate form from here and submit it to WORLDiscoveries at: ipm@uwo.ca. If you have further questions or are still unsure, please email ipm@uwo.ca.

If you answered yes to any of a. AND b. above AND the Intellectual Property is copyrighted work please go to c. below.

c. For copyrighted works (excluding software), do any of the following apply?

1. The creators wish assistance from the institution in commercialization activities.
2. Disclosure to the institution is required by third party agreements.
3. Disclosure is requested by the government.
4. The sale of the work is for over two thousand dollars.
5. The accumulated royalty fees of the work exceed two thousand dollars.

If you answered yes to any of a. AND b. AND c. above please download the appropriate form from here and submit it to WORLDiscoveries at: ipm@uwo.ca.

If you have further questions or are still unsure, please email ipm@uwo.ca.

For Students (Creator-owned)

a. Was the Intellectual Property (IP) created in the course of your academic studies?

For example:

1. Did you use, other than incidentally, institutional resources (facilities, equipment, materials etc.) to create the IP?
2. Are there any agreements with third parties that include Western as a party and relates to the creation of the IP?
3. Did you receive funding from any third parties that is managed by or held in an account at Western to create the IP?
4. Is the IP a requirement for your degree program?
5. Will the IP be associated with the name or brand of Western?

If you answered yes to any of the above or unsure, please go to b. below.

b. Do you wish to exploit the Intellectual Property for commercial gain?

For example:

1. Are you planning to use the IP to generate revenue? Do you plan to license or transfer ownership of the IP to a third party in exchange for something of monetary value (cash, royalties, shares/stocks in a company, etc.)?

If you answered yes to any of a. AND b. above please download the appropriate form from here and submit it to WORLDiscoveries at: ipm@uwo.ca. If you have further questions or are still unsure, please email ipm@uwo.ca.

For Staff (University owned)

a. Was the Intellectual Property (IP) created in the course of your employment at Western?

For example:

1. Is the IP the result of you performing your roles and responsibilities as outlined in your job description?
2. Did you use, other than incidentally, institutional resources (facilities, equipment, materials etc.) to create the IP?
3. If applicable, will the IP be included in your annual performance evaluation?
4. Are there any agreements with third parties that include Western as a party and relates to the creation of the IP?
5. Did you receive funding from any third parties that is managed by or held in an account at Western to create the IP?
6. Will the IP be associated with the name or brand of Western?

If you answered yes to any of the above or unsure, please go to b. below.

b. Do you wish to exploit the Intellectual Property for commercial gain?

For example:

1. Are you planning to use the IP to generate revenue? Will the IP form the basis of a for-profit company? Do you plan to license, assign or sell ownership of the IP to a third party in exchange for something of monetary value (cash, royalties, shares/stocks in a company, etc.)?

If you answered yes to any of a. AND b. above please download the appropriate form from here and submit it to WORLDiscoveries at: ipm@uwo.ca. If you have further questions or are still unsure, please email ipm@uwo.ca.

Commercialization refers to all modes of exploiting the IP to generate revenue. Examples include: direct sales of products/services protected by the IP; fees and royalties paid by a licensee in exchange for rights to the IP; and fees obtained for assigning ownership of the IP to a third party, among others.

We advise to “protect prior to publish”. Public disclosures (i.e. publication, presentation, poster, abstract, marketing materials etc.) can prevent you from obtaining a patent if that disclosure occurs prior to filing a patent application.

No, because there is no commercialization taking place. It should be noted that since publishing may foreclose the possibility of commercialization, if you feel you may be interested in commercializing at some point, it should be determined whether the IP can be protected through statutory means prior to making it public.

No. You, as the owner of any IP being recognized through an award or honorarium, have no desire to commercialize and the award or honorarium is likely not reflective of the actual value of the IP or the cost to create it.

It depends.

1. If the consulting was done on one’s own time with no or incidental use of University resources, then no. You would have signed the consulting agreement as an individual (University would not be a signatory to the consulting agreement). Note that you may still have reporting obligations under the Paid Professional Activities section of the UWOFA collective agreement, if you are a faculty member.
2. If consulting was done using, other than incidentally, University resources and/or done as part of one’s role and time as a member of University, then yes. Any fee for service agreement is or should be drawn up through Research Development and Services.

No. There is nothing to disclose until the IP has been created and you desire for it to be commercialized.

No. You are only obligated to disclose when you are desiring to commercialize. It should be noted that since publishing may foreclose the possibility of commercialization, if you feel you may be interested in commercializing at some point, it should be determined whether the IP can be protected through statutory means prior to making it public.

If you are interested in learning more, please contact WORLDiscoveries (ipm@uwo.ca).

Yes. Initially that is the case.

Possible course of action:

1. Western and members commercialize together.
2. All members (except staff) decide to assign to Western; Western commercializes on behalf of all members.
3. Staff member requests Western ownership assigned to them; which is then evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

It depends.

As the article was created by you as part of your employment responsibilities, the ownership of copyright material belongs to Western. Any agreements regarding the transfer of IP rights has to involve an individual who can assign on behalf of Western.

An inventor is a person who has had an original idea or otherwise contributed intellectual input in a patent. An author is a person who has produced or created intellectual property through artistic or literary means. An inventor/author can also be the owner but not necessarily. The inventor/author will always remain an inventor/author regardless of who the owner is or becomes at a later date.
An owner has the right to sell or provide rights to third parties to use the IP. Intellectual property is, in most cases, creator-owned for students, faculty, librarians, archivists and post-doctoral fellows. Intellectual property created by staff as part of their employment is owned by Western unless there is an agreement to the contrary.

For patentable material assigned to Western, net revenue is shared 50/50; copyright is discussed when assigned.
When not assigned, for patentable material, inventors are required to remit 15% of the net revenue back to Western.
When not assigned, and is computer software, creators are required to remit 7% of the net revenue back to Western.
When not assigned, and is computer software developed without the significant use of University resources, creators are required to remit 3% of the net revenue back to Western.