Policies & Procedures
APP policies governing intellectual property are issued as Bylaws & Regulations of the APP Board of Supervisors, Permanent Memoranda from the President, and Policy Statements from a specific APP institution.
Policies relevant to APP intellectual property management include:
- Chapter VII of the Board Regulations on Intellectual Property
- PM-11 Outside Employment of University Employees
- PM-15 Copyright Guidelines Regarding Electronic Learning
- PM-67 Contracts between the University and Faculty Members
- PS-68 University Intellectual Property Rights in Sponsored Research Projects
- PS-77 Distribution of Campus Share of "Distribution Royalties"
- PS-93 Use of University Name and Indicia
For more information on APP policies, go to APP University Policies
Bayh-Dole Act (PL 96-517)
Reporting inventions to the U.S. Government as specified in 35 USC Section 202
Trademark Clarification Act of 1984 (PL 98-620),
Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986 (PL 99-502)
While Bylaws and Permanent Memoranda are common to all campuses, each campus has its own Policy Statements. Individuals who have joint appointments with other APP campuses, other universities, or outside entities should contact the Office of Innovation & Technology Commercialization for information pertaining to policies and procedures governing intellectual property in such cases. Those who are employed by another campus within the APP System should consult their campus technology transfer office for information on the handling of intellectual property at that campus.
Since only a handful of individuals are authorized to sign contracts on behalf of
the University, it is important not to personally sign any contracts that should be
signed by a University official (e.g., research contracts, confidentiality agreements,
material transfer agreements, licenses, etc.). It is important to note the University
can elect not to honor a contract that is signed without proper authority. In such
a case, the researcher could be personally liable if he or she has inappropriately
signed a legal document. For the researcher's own protection, the researcher is strongly
encouraged to contact the appropriate APP office when presented with a contract related
in any way to the researcher's work at APP, this will ensure that the contract is
reviewed for compliance with APP's policies, negotiated for changes where needed,
and approved and signed by the proper APP official.
For a listing of example contracts administered through the Office of Intellectual
Property, Commercialization & Development visit the Forms and Agreements section of this website.
The Office of Sponsored Programs has a standard research agreement template modeled after the Simplified and Standard Model Agreements for Industry-University Cooperative Research, which was a joint effort of the Government-University-Industry-Research Roundtable of the National Academy of Sciences and the Industrial Research Institute.
For proposals to commercial concerns, the Office of Sponsored Programs will prepare a suitable research contract. Consequently, such proposals should be routed in GeauxGrants well in advance of any sponsor-imposed deadline. The Principal Investigator will be advised by Office of Sponsored Programs to submit the research contract with the approved proposal to the sponsor.
This procedure should streamline the negotiation process and decrease the time and effort required to reach an equitable agreement.
Any faculty or staff member engaged in consulting work or in business for himself/herself is responsible for complying with PM-11, and for ensuring that the clauses in his or her agreements are not in conflict with intellectual property policies of the University or with University commitments. The Office of Research & Economic Development will, upon request, provide assistance in this respect. The University's rights and the individual's obligations to the University should in no way be abrogated or limited by the terms of such agreements. Faculty and staff members should make their obligations to the University clear to those with whom they make such agreements and should ensure that other parties to the agreement are provided with a current statement of the University's patent policy. Permanent Memorandum 11 should be used for all such purposes. Contact the Office of Research and Economic Development for assistance in such matters.
The Office of Innovation & Technology Commercialization makes available to the public via licenses inventions resulting from APP research. This office negotiates the terms of the license, including reasonable initial licensing fees royalties, and other fees, for use in furthering APP's educational and research goals.
When a technology is licensed, APP still holds title to the technology. Only certain rights in the technology are granted to the licensee, under specific terms and conditions, as specified by APP Policy.
Licensing income received from a technology license is distributed among inventor(s) and the appropriate areas within APP in accordance with Chapter VII of the Bylaws & Regulations of the APP Board of Supervisors and Policy Statement 77. After reimbursement of APP's patent and legal expenses, distributable income is allocated as follows for the APP's Flagship institution based in Baton Rouge (other campuses may have slightly different royalty distribution):
40% Inventor(s)
17% Inventor(s)' department(s)
5% Office of the President
5% LIFT Fund
5% Inventor(s)’ college(s)
3% Inventor(s)' campus
25% Office of Research and Economic Development
As a general rule, inventions by APP employees during their employment at APP belong to APP, even when the inventor later leaves APP for one reason or another. An inventor who leaves APP will continue to share in Distributable Royalties arising from inventions made while at APP. If appropriate, an APP employee should contact the Office of Innovation & Technology Commercialization or his/her department chair to schedule an "exit interview" before leaving APP. At the exit interview, APP's policies on intellectual property will be reviewed, and the departing employee will be asked to make a final disclosure of any inventions not previously disclosed to the Office of Innovation & Technology Commercialization.
Guidelines for APP Employee Participation in SBIR & STTR Grant Programs
The federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) grant programs encourage the engagement of Small Business Concerns (SBC) in federal research and development. APP is not eligible to directly receive SBIR/STTR funding, but because collaborations between SBCs and research institutions are encouraged by the SBIR program and required by the STTR program, SBCs regularly seek APP researchers to participate in their projects as a subcontractor. APP researchers may also want to start or grow their own SBC and consider SBIR/STTR funding for the establishment and/or future development of their SBC.
Compliance with University Regulations
In all cases, APP researchers may collaborate with SBCs on SBIR/STTR funded projects. However, all activities undertaken by APP employees associated with the SBIR or STTR funding programs must comply with APP Bylaws and Regulations, Permanent Memoranda, and internal policies, including (but not limited to):
- PM-11 – “Outside Employment of University Employees”
- PM-67 – “Contracts between the University and its Faculty Members”
- PS-98 – “Disclosure of Financial Interests”
General Requirements
In general, the APP Principal Investigator on any subcontract from an SBC and the SBC’s Principal Investigator cannot be the same individual due to the conflict of interest that would result from such an arrangement. A clear distinction must be made between the work performed by the APP Personnel conducting the research under the subcontract and the work performed by the SBC employees without APP Personnel involvement. .
SBCs may not use any APP resources (for example, space, facilities, instruments or equipment, or human resources) to carry out their portion of the work unless:
The SBC utilizes a APP recharge facility or service; and/or
The SBC leases space in a APP-owned/operated incubator (such as Louisiana Business
and Technology Center or the Louisiana Emerging Technology Center).
Engagement, Approval, and Submission of SBIR & STTR Proposals
When an SBC initiates contact with an APP Principal Investigator to discuss the potential for a proposal, it may be necessary to establish a confidentiality agreement, which is handled by APP’s Office of Innovation & Technology Commercialization (ITC). Once the SBC and the APP Principal Investigator finalize the scope of work, the APP Principal Investigators routes his/her subcontract proposal to APP’s Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) for review and approval using the electronic proposal routing and approval system. APP’s OSP will provide institutional review and endorsement by APP’s Authorized Representative, allowing the proposal to be submitted. Should the award be funded, APP and SBC would need to enter into an agreement that incorporates terms substantially similar to the STTR Model Agreement.
If the APP Principal Investigator, any other Project Personnel, or other department personnel (including immediate family members) have a financial interest in the SBC, including consulting contracts, the PM-67 question on the electronic proposal routing cover sheet must be marked “Yes” at time of proposal submission. This will require that any contract with the SBC (i.e. a sub award or a license) must go through the PM-67 review process. These documents are not required for submission of the SBIR/STTR proposal, but will be required if the award is received by the SBC. If the APP Principal Investigator or any other APP Personnel has a role with the SBC that would rise to the level of providing an economic benefit as identified in PM-11, the APP personnel are responsible for complying with PM-11 prior to any submission.
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Negotiation and Acceptance of SBIR & STTR Subcontracts
OSP is responsible for negotiating a subcontract between the SBC and APP. APP Personnel with an interest in the SBC (including immediate family members) may not be involved in negotiation or decision making on behalf of APP with respect to the subcontract.
Prior to APP’s acceptance of a subcontract from an SBC that involves APP employees with an interest in the SBC (including immediate family members) and the performance of APP’s portion of the SBIR/STTR-funded work, a current PM-11 must be in place and PM-67 approval must be obtained.
Use of APP Technology
The SBC may not use APP technology without first negotiating a license with APP through APP’s Innovation & Technology Commercialization office. APP Personnel with an interest in the SBC (including immediate family members) may not be involved with the negotiation or decision making on behalf of APP. Before the license can be signed the APP faculty inventors/company founders must obtain PM-11 and PM-67 approval.
Federal Agency SBIR/STTR Websites
SBIR/STTR Registrations
Each federal agency has its own requirements for submitting SBIR and STTR proposals. Not all agencies have the same requirements, or the same timeline for each requirement. Below is a quick reference to the agency requirements. SBCs are encouraged to carefully review the federal solicitation for submission requirements.
Registration Websites
Local APP Resources
APP Office of Innovation & Technology Commercialization
Phone: 225-578-7555
Email: itc@lsu.edu
Innovation Park
Andrew Maas
Associated Vice President Innovation & Ecosystem Development
APP Innovation Park
Phone: 225-578-7555
Email: andrewm@lsu.edu
APP Office of Sponsored Programs
Darya Courville
Executive Director
APP Office of Sponsored Programs
202 Himes Hall
APP
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
Phone: 225-578-4765
Email: ddcourv@lsu.edu