Bates Intellectual Property Policy as revised by the Board of Trustees on May 9, 2016. 

As stated in in the Intellectual Property Policy, “Many grants and contracts from government agencies or private sponsors contain provisions governing intellectual property and/or other rights to the property which obligate the grantee (the College) in some way. In such cases, the College has a functional interest in the IP and owns all property rights associated with the IP…. The Dean of the Faculty must be consulted in advance of any grant application regarding such restrictions (see Section III.A).”

Bates College Intellectual Property Disclosure Form

“The uniform application of this Policy requires that the College be made aware of IP created by members of the College community with the use of College resources. Responsibility for reporting the creation of IP rests with the creator(s). The Dean of the Faculty will develop a procedure that will facilitate such reporting.” For any IP created in connection with a grant or sponsored project, notification of the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research Compliance shall be the mechanism for notification of the Dean of the Faculty.” To prepare such a notification, please use the Bates College Intellectual Property Disclosure Form.

SPaRC will review the College’s obligations under the terms of the grant or contract, advise the Faculty or Staff member of their rights or obligations, notify the Dean of the Faculty and make recommendations to the Dean of any further action as necessary.

Materials Transfer Agreements (MTAs) or Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) which you may be asked to sign by collaborators may conflict either with the terms of the Bates College IP policy referenced or with the terms and conditions of one or more sponsored research agreements (grants) with which you are involved. Therefore, any such MTA or NDA should be sent to SPaRC (sparc@bates.edu) for a preliminary review and must be countersigned by the Dean of the Faculty.