To inquire or learn more about these subjects, please contact the Industry Liaison Office.
The function of a university is to create and conserve knowledge acquired through research, teaching, and other scholarly activities, and to communicate this knowledge through publication, interaction with the public and, where appropriate, commercial means. The University of Saskatchewan provides an environment that is conducive to scholarship, teaching, learning, discussion, and debate. Its members need, and indeed are expected, to comment and criticize. This need is reflected in the tradition of academic freedom. A public university also has the duty to educate and translate knowledge for the benefit of society. The University of Saskatchewan encourages the use of its resources to study existing knowledge and cultural properties, to create intellectual property, and to integrate creativity with scholarly activities so that success in its stated objectives, academic excellence and leadership in society can be achieved. The University of Saskatchewan recognizes that both cultural and intellectual property has value.
The University of Saskatchewan encourages and promotes the lively exchange, sharing and communication of information and ideas. It also encourages and promotes the transfer of knowledge, technologies, and intellectual properties that are created or developed by University faculty, staff and students for public use and benefit. At the same time, the University recognizes the need to protect individual intellectual property rights in order to facilitate such transfer. To assist the University to achieve its purposes, and to avoid misunderstandings among members of the University community, it is important to provide clarity regarding the rights of creators and users of intellectual property, particularly with regard to matters of access and use for academic purposes and for commercial exploitation. Misunderstandings can arise because intellectual property rights are the creation of complex laws. Also, University-based research and scholarly activities are often undertaken collaboratively, by multiple individuals within the institution, or associated with different institutions, and misunderstandings can arise as to the nature or value of each individual’s contribution.
Intellectual property can be understood as a kind of property, just like it sounds. Canadian law creates certain rights (property) that may be held by people in relation to certain subject matters. For example, “real property” refers to legal rights in relation to land and fixtures on land. Intellectual property is a collection of rights in relation to certain intangibles – expressed or manifest “products of the mind” . The subject matters to which intellectual property rights can be attached are defined by acts of government (primarily) and the common law. Intellectual property can be acquired in relation to:
Like other property rights, intellectual property rights can be enforced against anyone who does that which only the intellectual property holder is permitted to do, as provided by the pertinent statute.
It is important to recognize that intellectual property can be acquired only in relation to “expressed” or “manifest” products of the mind. Of surprise to some, there is simply no intellectual property available in relation to: ideas, mere information, data, knowledge, facts or know-how. Nevertheless, such assets can be valuable and there are legal means for protecting such subject matters, but not through a property regime. Protection of these subject matters can be acquired pursuant to laws that govern relations between persons. For example, to protect research results or other information or data, a person might disclose it to another in accordance with the terms of a contract that requires the recipient to not further disclose the information to another person. Such a contract is commonly called a confidential disclosure agreement, confidentiality agreement or non-disclosure agreement.
Canadian law operates only in Canada, but other countries of the world have legislation that creates rights similar (but not identical) to those available in Canada. It is important to recognize this, because a person may want to acquire intellectual property rights in more than one country.
Intellectual property may be held by an individual, solely or jointly with one or more others, or by other “legal persons” such as corporations.
Like other property, intellectual property can be bought or sold, leased, and/or licensed. A license is just a form of permission; the intellectual property holder allows a licensee to do one or more of the things that, under the relevant intellectual property law, only the intellectual property holder may do. In commercial relations, there will usually be a payment(s) given for the receipt of a license. Such payments, depending upon how they are arranged, may be called royalties. However, often money is not exchanged if the purpose of the license is to enable a non-commercial entity, such as another university researcher, perhaps a collaborator. Another way to enable another to do those things that only the intellectual property holder may do is to assign the rights. An assignment is different from a license. Assignment of intellectual property rights involves giving them to another person; it is a transfer of ownership.
Some of the types of intellectual property that are frequently created or exploited at the University of Saskatchewan are described in further detail below, as are the pertinent policies and principles that the University recognizes as being critical to their formulation.
For the purposes of the University of Saskatchewan’s Inventions policies the definitions following pertain.
Currently, intellectual property created by undergraduate students in the course of their studies remains the property of the student. The University does not assert any interest in these intellectual properties. However, current situation is in the process of reevaluation in light of plans to significantly increase the engagement of undergraduate students with the University’s research enterprise.
Please note, however, that when undergraduate students undertake paid employment with the University; for example, by working in a research laboratory, either during the summer or while attending classes, they are employees of the University. If the undergraduate student invents or contributes to the Creation of an Invention in the course of such employment, the inventions policy of the University with respect to staff will apply (see Inventions – Faculty and Staff).
Note that, within the meaning of the Copyright Act, “publication” means making available to the public. This definition is much more inclusive that merely being in a magazine, journal or book. Publication includes, for example, oral presentation (e.g., in a seminar open to the public) or on a web site (personal or otherwise).
In addition to the economic rights, the author of a work has certain so-called “moral rights.” These are:
Note that the economic rights are typical property rights – they vest in the “copyright holder” who may be a purchaser of the rights from the author, but the moral rights vest only in the author – they cannot be transferred to another person, but they can be waived (given up) in whole or in part.
Copyright gives rights to creators while providing access to the protected works by users. Canadian copyright law is intended to strike a balance between the interests of these two groups. For creators, the law is intended to ensure that they have control over their creations. For users, the law sets out certain conditions and terms under which an original work may be legally copied, translated, performed, adapted or displayed, in whole or in part, for purposes of research, private study, criticism or review, news reporting, or instruction. Also, the public is entitled to use works after copyright expires – it is not perpetual. In Canada, the term of copyright varies somewhat based on the type of work and the circumstances of its creation and publication but usually, copyright (both economic and moral rights) lasts for:
See the policy statement on “Use of Material Protected by Copyright.”
The University is one of Canada’s premier crop and horticultural plant variety breeders. Most plant varieties developed at the University of Saskatchewan are developed through the Department of Plant Sciences and, principally, its Crop Development Centre.
About Intellectual Property Policies and Principles
The function of a university is to create and conserve knowledge acquired through research, teaching, and other scholarly activities, and to communicate this knowledge through publication, interaction with the public and, where appropriate, commercial means. The University of Saskatchewan provides an environment that is conducive to scholarship, teaching, learning, discussion, and debate. Its members need, and indeed are expected, to comment and criticize. This need is reflected in the tradition of academic freedom. A public university also has the duty to educate and translate knowledge for the benefit of society. The University of Saskatchewan encourages the use of its resources to study existing knowledge and cultural properties, to create intellectual property, and to integrate creativity with scholarly activities so that its stated objectives of pursuit of academic excellence and leadership in society can be achieved. The University of Saskatchewan recognizes that both cultural and intellectual property has value.
The University of Saskatchewan encourages and promotes the lively exchange, sharing and communication of information and ideas. It also encourages and promotes the transfer of knowledge, technologies, and intellectual properties that are created or developed by University faculty, staff and students for public use and benefit. At the same time, the University recognizes the need to protect individual intellectual property rights, in order to facilitate such transfer. To assist the University to achieve its stated purposes, and to avoid misunderstandings among members of the University community, it is important to provide clarity regarding the rights of creators and users of intellectual property, particularly with regard to matters of access and use for academic purposes and for commercial exploitation. Misunderstandings can arise because intellectual property rights are the creation of complex laws. Also, University-based research and scholarly activities are often undertaken collaboratively, by multiple individuals within the institution, or associated with different institutions, and misunderstanding can arise as to the nature or value of each individual’s contribution.
What is Intellectual Property (“IP”)?
Intellectual property can be understood as a kind of property, just like it sounds. Canadian law creates certain rights (property) that may be held by people in relation to certain subject matters. For example, “real property” refers to legal rights in relation to land and fixtures on land. Intellectual property is a collection of rights in relation to certain expressed or manifest “products of the mind”. The subject matters to which intellectual property rights can be attached are defined by acts of government (primarily) and the common law. Intellectual property can be acquired in relation to:
Like other property rights, intellectual property rights can be enforced against anyone who does that which only the intellectual property holder is permitted to do, as provided by the pertinent statute.
It is important to recognize that intellectual property can be acquired only in relation to “expressed” or “manifest” products of the mind. There is no intellectual property available in relation to: ideas, mere information, data, knowledge, facts, or know-how. These assets can be valuable and there are legal means for protecting such subject matters, but not through a property regime. Protection of these subject matters can be acquired pursuant to laws that govern relations between persons. For example, to protect research results or other information or data, a person might disclose it to another in accordance with the terms of a contract (written or verbal), that requires the recipient to not further disclose the information to another person. Such a contract is commonly called a confidential disclosure agreement, confidentiality agreement or non-disclosure agreement.
Canadian law operates only in Canada, but other countries of the world have legislation that creates rights similar (but not identical) to those available in Canada. It is important to recognize this, because a person may want to acquire intellectual property rights in more than one country.
Intellectual property may be held by an individual, solely or jointly with one or more others, or by other “legal persons” such as corporations.
Like other property, intellectual property can be bought or sold, leased, and/or licensed. A license is just a form of permission; the intellectual property holder allows a licensee to do one or more of the things that, under the relevant intellectual property law, only the intellectual property holder may do. In commercial relations, there will usually be a payment(s) given for the receipt of a license. Such payments, depending upon how they are arranged, may be called royalties. However, often money is not exchanged if the purpose of the license is to enable a non-commercial entity, such as another university researcher, perhaps a collaborator. Another way to enable another to do those things that only the intellectual property holder may do is to assign the rights. An assignment is different from a license. Assignment of intellectual property rights involves giving them to another person; it is a transfer of ownership.
Some of the types of intellectual property that are frequently created or exploited at the University of Saskatchewan are described in further detail below, as are the pertinent policies and principles that the University recognizes as being critical to their formulation.
Governing University of Saskatchewan Intellectual Property Policies
The intellectual property policies of the University of Saskatchewan reflect a number of basic principles that are consistent with its core functions and mandates. Four of these basic principles are as follows:
For the purposes of the University of Saskatchewan’s inventions policy, the following definitions apply:
1.1 Inventions Policy – Faculty, Staff, and Graduate Students
University faculty, staff, and graduate students may create Inventions in the course of employment/studies or through use of University resources. For the purposes of the inventions policy, graduate students are considered to be employed by the University.
As a condition of employment, faculty, staff, and graduate students are required to sign an agreement with the University called the “Memorandum of Agreement Respecting Inventions”. In this agreement, faculty, staff, and graduate students agree to transfer to the University their interests (ownership) in any Invention created in the course of employment or through the use of University resources.
If faculty, staff, and/or graduate students wish to commercialize an Invention that is created in the course of employment or through the use of University resources, the Invention must be reported to the University by filling out and submitting a “Report of Invention” form to the Industry Liaison Office. Once this form is received, the Industry Liaison Office will evaluate the Invention to determine whether it has potential for intellectual property protection and to determine whether there is likely to be a commercial market for the Invention.
If, as a result of this evaluation, the Industry Liaison Office decides to pursue commercialization of the Invention, the Industry Liaison Office will ask the creator(s) of the Invention to sign forms that assign their rights in the Invention to the University (i.e. transfer ownership of their intellectual property rights to the University). The Industry Liaison Office will then seek to Commercialize the Invention and protect the intellectual property associated with the Invention, as appropriate. The Industry Liaison Office will bear all of the costs associated with these activities.
If the Industry Liaison Office chooses not seek, or later decides to abandon, Commercialization of an Invention; the University will waive assignment or assign back to the inventor(s) the interests earlier assigned to the University (i.e., ownership of the intellectual property will be returned to the faculty, staff, and/or graduate student(s)).
1.2 Inventions Policy – Undergraduate Students
Currently, intellectual property created by undergraduate students in the course of their studies remains the property of the undergraduate student. The University does not assert any interest in these intellectual properties.
When undergraduate students undertake paid employment with the University; for example, by working in a research laboratory, either during the summer or while attending classes, they are an employee of the university. If the undergraduate student invents or contributes to the Creation of an Invention in the course of such employment, the inventions policy of the University with respect to staff will apply (see the previous section).
The word “copyright” describes a variety of rights that can exist in relation to various “works” as recognized in the Copyright Act of Canada. There are four types of works:
Although members of the University community create all types of works, almost all of them create literary works (e.g., journal articles, reports, theses).
For copyright to exist in a work the work must be:
Copyright arises automatically when an original work is expressed in a fixed medium (no other acts need to be carried out and there is no formal registration or application process needed to obtain copyright protection). Nevertheless, it is sometimes useful to provide notice of the copyright with a notation on each page, or on the first (title) page, in the form following:
The Copyright Act is complex, the rights of copyright holders are many and varied, and some rights exist in relation to only certain types of works.
The “economic rights” of a copyright holder include the sole right to:
Note that, within the meaning of the Copyright Act, “publication” means making available to the public. This definition is much more inclusive that merely being in a magazine, journal or book. Publication includes, for example, oral presentation (e.g., in a seminar open to the public) or on a web site (personal or otherwise).
In addition to their economic rights, the creator of a work has certain “moral rights.” These are:
Note that the economic rights are typical property rights that can be bought and sold, but the moral rights belong only to the creator; they cannot be transferred to another person, but they can be waived (given up) either in whole or in part.
Copyright gives rights to creators while providing access to the protected works by users. Canadian copyright law is intended to strike a balance between the interests of these two groups. For creators, the law is intended to ensure that they have control over the use of their Creations. For users, the law sets out certain conditions and terms under which an original work may be legally copied, translated, performed, adapted or displayed, in whole or in part, for purposes of research, private study, criticism or review, news reporting, or instruction. Also, the public is entitled to use works after copyright expires. In Canada, the term of copyright varies somewhat based on the type of work and the circumstances of its creation and publication but usually, copyright (both economic and moral rights) lasts for:
2.1 Copyright Policy – Works used at the University of Saskatchewan, and Created by Third Parties
See the policy statement on “Use of Material Protected by Copyright.”
2.2 Copyright Policy – Works Created at the U of S
The University is one of Canada’s premier crop and horticultural plant variety breeders. Most plant varieties developed at the University of Saskatchewan are developed through the Department of Plant Sciences and, principally, its Crop Development Centre.
3.1 Plant Breeders’ Rights Policy