Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer

Most of what faculty, staff, and students create at UCA belongs to the person who created it. This page helps you figure out quickly whether your work is covered by the university’s intellectual property policy, what to do if it is, and who can help.

This page summarizes Board Policy 410, Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer (revised August 2026). Where this summary and the policy differ, the policy governs.

Think you have something the policy covers? File before the work becomes public.

Intellectual Property Disclosure Form →

Read the plain-language policy guide
|
Board Policy 410 (PDF)

On this page

Do I Need to File? Three Questions

Most questions resolve quickly if you answer these in order.

Question 1

Is it a traditional product of scholarly activity?

If yes, stop. It is yours and no form is needed. Articles, books, artwork, and course materials all fall here.

Question 2

Did you use university funds, facilities, or other resources to create it?

If no, the university has no claim. If yes, the policy applies and filing a disclosure is the right next step. Not sure? File the form and let the review answer the question.

Question 3

Was it created under a sponsored project or with federal funding?

If yes, the sponsored agreement may control ownership. Contact the Office of Grants and Sponsored Research (OGSR) before you assume anything.

Are you a student?

Students generally own what they create, with two exceptions. See Students below.

What Is Yours and What Is Covered

Yours outright. No disclosure needed.

UCA does not claim traditional products of scholarly activity, including:

Journal articles
Books and textbooks
Reviews
Works of art, including paintings, sculpture, films, and musical compositions
Course materials such as syllabi, workbooks, and laboratory manuals

This list is not exhaustive. You do not need permission to publish, and you do not owe the university a share of your book royalties.

Covered by the policy when university resources were used

Inventions and discoveries. Anything that could be the subject of a patent application or protected as a proprietary trade secret.

Copyrightable and trademarkable material. Sound recordings, videos, films, computer programs, computer assisted instruction materials, and other material outside the traditional scholarly works exception.

Tangible research property. Cell lines, plasmids, plant varieties, software, databases, prototype devices, circuit diagrams, analytical procedures, and laboratory methods, whether or not they are patentable or copyrightable.

A single project can fall into more than one category.

Two situations where it is worth asking first

Creative projects with substantial university support. If a creative work was built with substantial university funding, staff, or production resources, ask OGSR before you assume it is yours.

Units that produce works for the university. Works created in units that exist to produce instructional, public service, or administrative works (the Instructional Development Center is the example named in the policy) are works for hire and belong to the university. Work you produce outside the scope of your employment and without university resources is still yours.

Students

The default is that students own what they create. The policy exempts student created intellectual property because students are paying for their education and should own what they produce along the way.

The two exceptions

Student work falls under the policy only when:

It was co-developed with a faculty or staff member, or
It was the result of federally funded research.

If neither is true, you do not need to file.

Theses and dissertations

The written document is a traditional scholarly work and belongs to the student. A patentable invention or tangible research property that comes out of the same project may be a different matter if either exception applies.

For advisors and mentors

Have the ownership conversation at the start of the project, not at the defense. If the project is federally funded, or you expect to be a genuine co-developer, say so in writing early and keep a record of who contributed what. This protects the student as much as it protects you.

When to File

File before the work becomes public

Public disclosure before a patent application is filed can permanently forfeit patent rights. The United States allows a one year grace period after the inventor’s own disclosure. Most other countries have no grace period at all, so a public disclosure can end foreign rights immediately.

What counts as public disclosure

Publishing an article or posting a preprint
Presenting at a conference, workshop, or symposium, including a poster
Pushing code to a public repository
Giving a public demonstration
Posting a thesis or dissertation to an open repository
Offering the work, or a product based on it, for sale

Good to know

Filing will not delay your publication. Tell us your publication date and we will work around it.

Already public? File anyway. The U.S. grace period may still be open, and the exact date of first disclosure matters.

Unfinished work is fine. An early, thin disclosure is better than a complete, late one. Sections 6 and 7 of the form can be left for later.

If anyone outside UCA already knows about the work, or if anyone has tried to sell or license it, reach out immediately rather than waiting to finish the form. The window for filing a patent application may be very short. Email researchcompliance@uca.edu or call 501-852-7460.

What Happens After You File

You submit the disclosure form to the Office of Research Integrity and Compliance (ORIC). Signing the form does not assign any rights to the university.
ORIC logs it and confirms receipt in writing, then forwards it to the University Research Council (URC). Keep the confirmation. That date starts the six month clock.
The URC decides whether the university has a legal interest in the work. The four possible outcomes are below.
If the university claims the work, you sign a separate assignment and OGSR manages protection and commercialization in close consultation with you.

What the URC Can Decide

Determination	What it means for you
No material use of university funds, facilities, or resources	Released to you. The university makes no further claim.
University has an interest, but commercialization is unlikely or not worth the cost	Released to you.
University has an interest and there is a reasonable chance of commercialization	Goes to OGSR. You are informed in writing, your income rights are recorded, and you execute an assignment of ownership rights to OGSR.
University has an interest, but the work is too early to evaluate	Pending status. You receive the reasons, suggestions for additional data, and a date to report back.

Protections built into the policy

The six month rule

Except for work in pending status, if the URC takes no action within six months of receiving your report, the rights are deemed released to you.

The two year rule

If nothing has been commercialized two years after assignment, you may ask the URC to return all rights to you. You can repeat the request every two years.

The university pays

OGSR bears all costs of protection and commercialization. Those costs are offset against future income before net income is calculated.

You stay informed

You are entitled to an annual detailed accounting of income and costs, and your participation in commercialization is actively sought.

Income Sharing

When covered intellectual property generates income, net calendar year income is shared as follows.

40%

Originator

20%

Originator’s department or immediate administrative unit

20%

Dean’s office of the originator’s college

20%

Office of Grants and Sponsored Research

Your share stays with you. It remains yours, or passes to your heirs and assigns, for as long as the property generates income.
Multiple originators divide the originator share among themselves. If you cannot agree, the URC decides and that decision is final. Settle this early and in writing.
Net income is royalties, license fees, and similar payments, minus costs such as patent protection, licensing, and sponsor shares.

The policy guide covers gifting your share, alternate distributions, starting a company around your invention, sponsored research, sharing research materials, and consulting.

Quick Reference

Your situation	What to do
Writing an article, book, or course materials	Nothing. It is yours.
Think you have a patentable invention	File a disclosure before any public disclosure.
A student made something patentable on your project	Ask whether it was co-developed or federally funded, then contact OGSR.
Negotiating an industry agreement	Route it to OGSR during proposal development. Terms are far easier to negotiate before the award than after the invention.
Sending materials to another lab	Use the Appendix A agreement in Policy 410 and send a copy to OGSR.
Signing a consulting contract	Share Policy 410 with the other party, and ask OGSR or general counsel to review anything touching ownership, inventions, or confidentiality.
Assigned work has sat for two years	Write to the URC to request return of your rights.
Want UCA to manage work that is already yours	Ask the director of OGSR. If the university accepts, the work becomes subject to the full policy, including the income split.

Get Help

You do not have to sort this out alone, and we would rather help early than untangle something later.

Disclosures and questions

Office of Research Integrity and Compliance (ORIC)
researchcompliance@uca.edu
501-852-7460
Torreyson West, Suite 328

Commercialization and agreements

Office of Grants and Sponsored Research (OGSR)
Kimberly Ashley-Pauley, Director
Protects, licenses, and commercializes intellectual property the university claims.

Who decides

University Research Council (URC)
Reviews each disclosure and determines whether the university has a legal interest in the work.

Disclosure Form →
|
Policy Guide
|
Board Policy 410 (PDF)

Have questions? researchcompliance@uca.edu or 501-852-7460