Documents available for download at right under related topics. Duty of Disclosure document used by permission of Foley and Lardner, LLP.

The Medical Center is responsible for the formulation and implementation of procedures necessary to protect, market and license the intellectual property of the Medical Center. The administrative and day-to-day business aspects of managing intellectual properties are the responsibility of the Intellectual Property Office under the direction of the associate provost for research. To advise and assist the Intellectual Property Office in this task, the president of the Medical Center shall appoint members of an Intellectual Property Committee. The Intellectual Property Committee shall meet periodically to receive and review reports on the status of the portfolio of intellectual properties of the Medical Center, to review policies pertaining to intellectual property, and render such advice and counsel concerning such intellectual property as may be requested by the president and/or the Intellectual Property Office.

IP Committee Membership
The membership of the committee include as regular members the senior vice president for corporate and hospital affairs, the associate provost for research who will serve as chairman, the vice president for legal affairs, the dean of Rush Medical College, the associate dean for basic sciences, the dean of the College of Health Sciences, the dean of the Graduate College, the dean of the College of Nursing, the vice president of philanthropy, marketing and communication, the provost, the director of the Intellectual Property Office, the chief of the Research Administrative Office, the director of research compliance, and the director of sponsored projects. One third of the membership of the Intellectual Property Committee constitutes a quorum of that committee, and the committee may act upon the vote of a majority of its members at a meeting at which a quorum is present.

Submission of Invention Disclosure Form
Discoveries, inventions or other work products shall be promptly disclosed in writing to the Rush IP Office. Copyrightable Work Products should be promptly disclosed to the applicable clinical or administrative department. Forms for Invention Disclosure, Copyrightable Work Product Disclosure and New Idea Disclosure are available to download using the links at right under "Related Topics." You may also request them from the IP Office via telephone or e-mail. There are additional, specific reporting requirements related to IP developed using federal funds.

• Importance of Confidentiality
  The inventor should be aware that new ideas, inventions and other work products must be kept strictly confidential until proper protection is in place. Prior to disclosing information regarding the invention, a CONFIDENTIAL DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT should be executed. This document requires the company (potential licensee) to keep the disclosed information confidential. Rush, the inventor and the company must sign the agreement. Contact the Rush IP Office for more information.
• Copyrights
  Copyrightable works include but are not limited to textbooks, chapters, recordings, computer programs, diagnostic tests, videotapes, and graphic productions. Under copyright law, the copyright to works created by persons in the course of their employment belongs to their employer. Originators of copyrightable works shall disclose all potentially copyrightable works to their applicable clinical or administrative department. Copyrightable Work Product disclosure forms are available at this Web site or by contacting the IP Office. The department shall determine, on behalf of the Medical Center, whether the Medical Center shall retain the copyright rights or assign its rights to the Originator. If the department determines the Medical Center shall retain the copyright, the department head (i.e., chairperson, director or equivalent position) shall contact the Intellectual Property Office. If the department decides to assign the rights to the originator, the department head shall provide a letter of assignment to the originator with a copy to the Intellectual Property Office.
• Trademarks, Trade Name, Service Mark
  An individual or department may request protection for a trademark, trade name or service mark by submitting a written request to the vice president of philanthropy, marketing and communications. Approved requests are then forwarded to Legal Affairs for processing. The department is responsible for paying all trademark-related legal expenses and fees. The Office of Legal Affairs manages and maintains all trademarks, trade names and service marks, and their licensing for the Medical Center.

IP Committee Review
After the IP disclosure is reviewed and a preliminary patentability search and marketability assessment is conducted, the Rush IP Committee will decide on the disposition of the IP: 1) submission of U.S. provisional patent application, 2) submission of U.S. full patent application, 3) submission to an invention marketing company for evaluation, or 4) assignment of ownership rights to the inventor to enable inventor to pursue IP protection and commercialization after reimbursing Medical Center costs to date, agreeing to pay the Medical Center a 4% royalty on income received by the inventor(s) in connection with the invention, and granting the Medical Center a royalty-free, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to practice the invention solely for non-commercial purposes). Per policy, the review and decision process must be done within a year however in most cases a decision will be made within three to four months.

Marketing the Technology
For intellectual property in the provisional patent and full patent application phase, the Rush IP Office will work with the inventor to develop a marketing strategy, and will seek licensees (companies willing to support further development and commercialization) of the technology. Technologies available for licensing are also posted on this Web site.

Licensing and Agreements with Third Parties
The IP Office and Legal Affairs evaluate all licenses and agreements related to the Medical Center’s intellectual property. The IP Office negotiates all such licenses and agreements and manages the collection and distribution of income generated from such agreements. The associate vice president for research is the signatory for these agreements.

The Office of Research Affairs and Legal Affairs evaluate all research, material transfer, and other research related agreements. The Office of Research Affairs negotiates all such agreements. The director of sponsored projects is the signatory for these agreements.

• Conflicts of Interest and Commitment
  Faculty and staff involved in licensing technology may encounter situations resulting in conflicts of interest/and or commitment. This is especially true when they become privately involved with the licensee in the further development of the technology—either as a stockholder, officer, employee, or contract consultant. In such instances, precautions must be taken either to avoid these conflicts or to manage them to protect the Medical Center and its faculty and staff from the adverse consequences that result from a conflict of interest and/or commitment. The fact that a conflict exists or may arise at some future time does not necessarily preclude faculty involvement with the licensing of the technology or its development by a private entity. It does, however, require that a plan for managing the conflict be developed, approved, implemented and monitored. For these reasons, the review process for licensing technology must consider whether the arrangement presents an actual or apparent conflict. Faculty or staff members involved in managing a conflict should keep detailed written records of their efforts on behalf of the Medical Center and the licensee, and should be familiar with the Medical Center’s Disclosing and Managing Conflicts of Interest in Research effective June 18, 2002, and other applicable Medical Center rules and regulations.

Intellectual Property and Research Agreements
The Rush IP Office and the Office of Research Affairs are responsible for evaluating agreements and proposals to protect the interest of both the Medical Center and the inventor(s). Rush is always the responsible signatory. For more information, see the Forms and Agreements section of this Web site.