Intellectual Property

The CITRIS approach to intellectual property adheres to the guidelines and policies established by the University of California. IP is a complex topic but one that CITRIS hopes to streamline and simplify in dealing with corporate sponsors, visitors, and others with whom we interact. We believe our approach to be fair, open, and flexible.

The one-page summary provided in the link below (IP Policy) gives a broad outline of that approach. The BSD Open Source License is the general policy that CITRIS follows when dealing with licenses to any software created in a corporate sponsor supported project. The CITRIS Patent Acknowledgment is a tool that is used only when a sponsor places a researcher in a CITRIS facility; it is designed to protect the IP rights of a Visiting Industrial Scientist and the University.

The CITRIS Open Collaborative Research Agreement (OCR) is a tool that may be used when it is necessary to define the boundaries of a relationship with a corporate sponsor, especially when a Visiting Industrial Scientist is residing in or using a CITRIS facility to conduct research. The CITRIS IP Addendum is an attachment to the OCR and describes specific guidelines for establishing ownership and, potentially, licensing of any IP created by a Visiting Industrial Scientist while using CITRIS facilities.