Intellectual Property

Intellectual property (IP) encompasses the innovations and creative works that bear the potential for copyright, patent, trademark, and trade secret protection. More specifically, IP includes inventions, discoveries, research findings, software, instructional materials, publications, data, creative works, and other original scholarly or creative outputs that may also be protected through contractual agreements. In the university setting, IP reflects the intellectual and creative contributions of faculty, staff, and students and may be managed to support research, education, innovation, and public benefit.