HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SYSTEM
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY POLICIES AND GUIDELINES
1985 TO PRESENT

CURRENT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY POLICY

SUMMARY OF REVISION:  Amends and simplifies the approval of released inventions; amends reporting requirement to simplify and make consistent with current state law.

a.    Section 5, Subsection 5.2, Subdivision 5.22, regarding approval of release of intellectual property rights, was amended to read as follows:

5.22    If the chief administrative officer recommends that the System not assert and exploit its interest and that recommendation is approved by the Office of General Counsel, the creator shall be notified within one hundred eighty (180) days of the date of submission that he or she is free to obtain and exploit a patent or other intellectual property protection in his or her own right and the System shall not have any further rights, obligations or duties with respect thereto except that, in some instances the System may elect to impose certain limitations or obligations or retain income rights, dependent upon the degree of System support involved in the creation of such property.

b.    Section 8, Subsection 8.1, regarding reporting, was amended as follows:

8.1    Any employee covered by Subsections 6.2, 7.1, or 7.2 shall report in writing to the chief administrative officer of the component institution, or to such other person as may be designated by the chief administrative officer, the name of any business entity in which the person has an interest or for which the person serves as a director, officer or employee and shall be responsible for submitting a revised written report upon any change in the interest or position held by such person in such business entity. These reports shall be forwarded to the Vice Chancellor and General Counsel by October 1 of each year for filing with the Board as required by Section 51.912, Texas Education Code and inclusion in the annual financial report sent to the State officials listed in Section 51.005, Texas Education Code.

The Regents' Rules and Regulations, Part Two, Chapter XII, Section 5, Subsection 5.2, Subdivision 5.22 specify that release of property rights to inventors must be approved by the appropriate Executive Vice Chancellor or Vice Chancellor in addition to the component chief administrative officer and the Office of General Counsel. This amendment simplifies the processing of such intellectual property actions at The University of Texas System level, allowing release approval and notification to inventors to be handled in the Office of General Counsel without routing to the Office of Health Affairs or the Office of Academic Affairs.

Texas Education Code Section 51.912 requires inclusion of information concerning all U. T. System employees who hold equity interests or certain offices in business entities that have agreements with the U. T. System relating to intellectual property owned by the U. T. Board of Regents in the annual financial report to named State officials as required by Texas Education Code Section 51.005. Amendment of Section 8, Subsection 8.1 of Chapter XII, Part Two of the Regents' Rules and Regulations will simplify the routing of information for that report which is currently completed by the Office of General Counsel and filed with the Board pursuant to Section 51.912 and makes the Rules and Regulations consistent with current law.

Current Intellectual Property Policy

Agreements, Forms and Samples | Intellectual Property Section

University of Texas System Office of General Counsel
Comments to intellectualproperty@utsystem.edu
Last updated: November 19, 2001