IP Guidelines For Students
General
Any intellectual property conceived or first reduced to practice by an undergraduate student at Oregon State University ("University") as a work product of a "for credit" course will generally be owned by the student. The University does not normally claim ownership of such intellectual property. This includes undergraduate theses, homework assignments, and special and independent study projects.
Special Situations
Situations may occur in certain courses, where students are presented with the opportunity to participate in projects or activities in which the ownership of any resulting intellectual property must be assigned to a sponsoring entity (such as a company) as a condition of the student's participation. Students are never obligated to participate in projects or activities that require the assignment of the student's intellectual property to an outside entity. In these situations students will always be presented with a choice of two options:
- To participate in projects or activities which do not require the student to assign their intellectual property.
- To participate in projects or activities that requires the student to assign their intellectual property.
The student's grade and/or evaluation of performance in the course will not be affected by the student's decision to participate or not to participate in projects or activities requiring the assignment of the student's intellectual property.
Undergraduates, Graduate Students, Assistants, and Fellows who receive monetary support from OSU are required to assign their intellectual property rights that specifically relate to those projects which the students, assistants, and fellows receive financial support.
Confidentiality
In order to protect their competitive positions, sponsors may also require students to sign a confidentiality agreement as a condition for working on their project. This agreement obligates the student to observe due diligence in protecting the confidentiality of company-provided information (data, drawings, design intent, etc).
Students should understand that the assignment of intellectual property and confidentiality agreements are binding legal documents and that they have the right to seek independent legal advice at their own expense prior to signing these agreements.