This Policy shall come into effect after it has received approval from the Council of the University of Cape Coast and gazetted by the Registrar of the University.
All agreements concluded by the University and the Researchers/Inventors/Innovators/Creators at an earlier time shall be governed by the provisions of the Policy in effect at the time of the signing of such contracts.
Research
The University shall only enter into a research contract or other binding commitment to perform work that can reasonably be expected to be publishable, provide educational opportunities, and/or be in the public interest.
Use of the University’s Name
All written or broadcast material containing the University’s name for advertising, marketing, or other promotional purposes shall be submitted to the Vice Chancellor for approval prior to use of such material. A statement on the use of the University’s name shall be included in all appropriate contracts between industry (company) and the University.
Publication
The University shall enter into contracts or other binding commitments to conduct research and training only if they permit the disclosure and publication of research. Delays in publication up to 120 days may be agreed to in order to permit time for filing of patent applications.
Confidentiality
The faculty shall not undertake research in which the sponsor:
- Prohibits the Researcher/Inventor/Innovator/Creator from disclosing the existence of the agreement; or
- Restricts the Researcher/Inventor/Innovator/Creator’s public disclosure of information developed by that faculty member.
Avoidance of Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment
- Trust, good faith and open discussion of controversial issues among colleagues have always been central to the life of the University. The activities of Researchers/Inventors/Innovators/Creators must be governed by thoughtful consideration of individual circumstances, rather than rigid rules. The requirement for reporting as outlined in the following paragraphs is meant to ensure that conflicts of commitment and conflicts of interest will be considered openly and fairly, and that appropriate action will be taken to resolve those conflicts. Reporting, thus, serves to protect individual Researcher/Inventor/Innovator/Creator, the University of Cape Coast, and academic freedom in general.
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In cases where faculty enjoy rights to Intellectual Property under this policy, they have an obligation to report fully any outside activities and interests related to their teaching, research, or service to their Head of Department, Dean, Provost or other designated University official and obtain their prior approval before the activity begins. The report must be in writing and must include the names of companies for whom he/she consults, the number of days committed to each consulting agreement and a copy of any proposed consulting agreements associated with Intellectual Property. Consulting agreements must be reviewed for compliance with University policies and government regulations and approved by DRIC, before the consultation can begin.
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The holding of equity interest in a Commercial Venture by the University and faculty Inventor, and the receipt of royalties and acceptance of consultant fees, places a burden on the Inventor to report such financial interests in all relevant papers prepared for publication or oral presentation, in order to avoid later accusation that adverse results had been suppressed in order to enhance the marketability of the Invention.
Grievances
In the event that an Inventor has a grievance about the University’s handling of his/her Intellectual Property, he/she may
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petition the Director of DRIC in the first instance.
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appeal to the Office of the Vice Chancellor, in the event when the complainant is still dissatisfied.
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refer the matter to the University Council, if the grievance remains unresolved.
The decision of the University Council is final
In the first instance, disputes shall be dealt with by the person or body designated by the University. A decision shall be taken within 14 days from the submission of the concern. Over and beyond the above, with respect to any legal dispute arising in connection with the rules of this Policy, the relevant provisions of law shall be applicable.
Breach of the provisions of this Policy shall be dealt with under the normal procedures of the University in accordance with the relevant provisions of law.
The University provides an incentive to Inventor(s) by distributing revenue generated from the commercialisation of the Intellectual Property.
The expression ‘Net income’ shall mean all license fees, royalties and any other monies received by the University, arising from the commercialisation of Intellectual Property less all the expenses incurred in connection with the protection and commercialisation of the Intellectual Property at the University.
The principle of sharing revenues should be defined by the University, taking into account all the stakeholders with whom the university’s income shall be shared, as well as general economic factors. It is a general principle that the University’s share increases as the net income increases. The share of revenues from net income shall be shared equally between the Inventor and the University.
In cases where there is more than one Inventor, the Inventor’s share is divided between the Inventors in a proportion which reflects their respective contributions as provided in the signed Invention Disclosure Form.
In certain cases, the University reserves its right to negotiate special terms concerning revenue distribution, in particular when income is generated through sale of shares or payment of the dividend of shares in cases where shares have been allocated to the University in an entity to which the Intellectual Property is licensed or assigned but which is not a spin-off enterprise.
In the case of establishing a spin-off enterprise, an individual agreement between the University and the Inventor(s) shall be applicable regarding the share of equity. The conditions of the agreement shall be negotiated on a case-by-case basis having due regard to the contribution of the Inventors to any further development and the exploitation beyond the creation of Intellectual Property and to any funding provided by the Inventor(s), the University or any third parties acquiring a share of equity in the new enterprise. The decision concerning the conditions of a spin-off establishment shall be taken by the person or Unit designated by the University on behalf of the University.
In case of exploitation of trademarks and other indicators, the Inventor(s), taking into consideration the proportion of their contribution to the exploitation, may benefit from the revenue as set forth in an individual agreement. The person or Unit designated by the University shall decide on such issues on a case-by case basis.
The person or unit designated by the University shall maintain records of the University’s Intellectual Property in an appropriate form and in sufficient detail. It shall monitor the deadlines for the payment obligations related to the maintenance of protected Intellectual Property, and shall, within 14 days, inform the person or unit designated by the University.
The person designated by the University shall maintain accounting records on each Intellectual Property. He or she shall ensure that the Intellectual Property is recorded in the accounting records, any costs incurred are paid in due course and that the revenues from exploitation are distributed.
The University encourages its Researchers to identify research results with potential commercialisation value and which may enhance the reputation of the University through bringing them to public use and benefit.
The person or unit designated by the University is responsible for the protection and commercialisation of the University’s Intellectual Property. The Inventor(s), however, shall be consulted in each phase of the procedure.
Researchers/Inventors/Innovators/Creators, whose work is covered by an IP agreement, shall be required to present in writing the draft publications containing scientific results to the person or Unit designated by the University before publishing them, and shall state in writing that, to the best of their knowledge such works do not contain any results for which protection may be obtained or which can be exploited in any way.
Researchers/Inventors/Innovators/Creators are obliged to disclose all Intellectual Property falling within the scope of Section 6 to the person or Unit designated by the University. In this context, the Inventor(s) must immediately register the intellectual property at the appropriate Intellectual Property offices in and outside Ghana in conjunction with the Directorate of Research, Innovation and Consultancy (DRIC). DRIC will be the lead consultant in taking appropriate steps and measures to ensure the registration and the acquisition of the patent for the Researchers/Inventors/Innovators/Creators.
Copyrighted Works shall be excluded from the disclosing obligation set out in Paragraph 8.3., except for those which were developed in the performance of a sponsored research or other third party agreement.
Since protection and successful commercialisation of every invention, innovation or creativity will depend on its prompt registration as Intellectual Property Right at the appropriate Intellectual Property Rights office(s), Researchers/Inventors/Innovators/Creators are required to disclose all potentially exploitable Intellectual Property Rights as soon as they become aware of them. The disclosure must be made in writing by completing the Intellectual Property Disclosure Form available from the person or unit designated by the University.
Researchers/Inventors/Innovators/Creators shall fully disclose all research activities and results relevant to the potential Intellectual Property Rights and provide information about themselves, in particular, the percentage of their contribution to the invention or creation which has potential Intellectual Property Rights and the circumstances under which it was created. The detailed description of the invention shall be presented in such a manner that the inventive activity involved and its novelty as well as its susceptibility of industrial application become explicit and clear-cut for a person skilled in the art.
In case of incomplete disclosure, the form may be sent back to the Inventor(s) requesting for additional information. The date of disclosure shall be the day on which the person or unit designated by the University receives the full disclosure signed by all Inventors.
If an Inventor is in any doubt whether an innovation or creation falls within the scope of Section 6 or it is potentially commercially exploitable, as innovation or creation then the Inventor should submit a disclosure to the person or unit designated by the University for consideration prior to making public disclosure of the Intellectual Property.
Premature disclosure may compromise the registration, the protection and commercialisation of innovation or creation. To avoid any loss of potential Intellectual Property Rights and their benefits, Researchers/Inventors/Innovators/Creators are required to make reasonable efforts to identify Intellectual Property early in the development process and consider the consequent impacts of any public disclosure.
After full disclosure of all relevant information, the person or unit designated by the University shall record all creations and innovations which are potential Intellectual Property Rights in its register. When such innovations and creations are finally registered as Intellectual Property Rights, the same designated unit by the University shall record them in a register of Intellectual Property Rights.
The person or unit designated by the University shall determine whether any agreements provide for the sharing of IP Rights or other obligations override those set out in this Policy. Provisions of related Research Agreements may require the assignment of certain IP rights in full or in part. In case of assignment, the procedure for protection and commercialisation shall be governed by a separate agreement concluded between the University and other concerned parties. In all other cases, the procedure set out in this Policy shall apply.
The person or unit designated by the University shall notify the relevant Head of Department, within thirty 30 days, about all disclosures. The notification involves a short abstract of the potential Intellectual Property Rights and the name of the Inventor(s).
After the date of disclosure, the person or unit designated by the University shall immediately commence the evaluation of the innovation and creation regarding its potential registration as Intellectual Property Rights in conjunction with an Intellectual Property expert or an Intellectual Property office. Based on the results of the pre-evaluation, a recommendation on whether to register the innovation and creation as Intellectual Property Rights shall be forwarded to the person or Unit taking the final decision on behalf of the University. Such a recommendation shall be forwarded within 14 days from the date of disclosure.
The final decision shall be taken within 21 days from the date of disclosure.
The Inventor(s) shall be informed of the decision within 30 days from the date of decision in writing. If the University decides not to register the innovations and creations as Intellectual Property Rights and to exploit and commercialise them, then the provisions of Paragraph 6.6 shall apply.
The person or unit shall carry out a complete evaluation of every registered Intellectual Property Rights designated by the University shall carry out a complete evaluation of the Intellectual Property with particular attention on possible methods of the protection of the Intellectual Property and its business opportunities.
The Inventor(s) shall closely cooperate with the person or unit designated by the University, the patent attorney or any other Intellectual Property experts involved or engaged by the University. Inventor(s) are required to give reasonable assistance in protecting and commercially exploiting the Intellectual Property by providing information, attending meetings and advising on further development.
The person or Unit designated by the University shall, within reasonable time not exceeding 30 days, commence the process for acquiring legal protection, if needed, and shall proceed with all due diligence to obtain protection. Public disclosure of research results made before obtaining the right of priority concerning a specific Intellectual Property application, highly jeopardise the proper protection of the related IP Rights. Therefore, Inventor(s) are requested to avoid any public disclosure of research results prior to filing such applications. The University shall endeavour to avoid undue delays in publications.
The person or Unit designated by the University and the Inventor(s) shall jointly determine an appropriate commercialisation strategy as part of the evaluation process within one month from the date of University’s decision. The strategy will outline the tasks of each concerned party in the commercialisation process and establish deadlines for the specific actions.
The person or Unit designated by the University shall be responsible to carry out the commercialisation plan and it shall submit specific proposals, such as draft agreements or business plans, to the person or Unit appointed by the University for decision.
Commercial decisions, such as the ones concerning the terms of an assignment/licensing agreement or establishment of a spin-off enterprise, shall be taken on a case-by-case basis by the person or Unit designated by the University, giving due consideration to all circumstances.
The University may decide not to apply for the registration of innovations and creations as Intellectual Property Rights or it may withdraw a pending application, if it is more appropriate for the purposes of commercialisation to treat the potential and relevant Intellectual Property Rights as confidential know how, secret etc.
If the University decides to discontinue an application, to withdraw it, or not to maintain a granted or registered right, the provisions of Paragraph 6.6 shall apply. Such decisions shall be taken by the person or Unit designated by the University.
Intellectual Property that do not fall within the scope of Section 6 may also be disclosed to the University by Researchers/Inventors/Innovators/Creators under the terms of this Policy. In such cases, the University shall decide, within 30 days from the full disclosure of all relevant information, whether to exploit the Intellectual Property. If the University decides to undertake the protection and commercialisation of the Intellectual Property, the rules set out in this Policy shall apply.
Expenses incurred in connection with the protection and commercialisation of Intellectual Property shall be borne by the University.
During the evaluation and commercialisation period, the full description of the Intellectual Property shall be disclosed to third parties under a confidentiality agreement.
A Researcher/Inventor/Innovator/Creator’s primary commitment of time and intellectual contributions as an employee of the University should be to the education, research and academic programmes of the University.
It is the responsibility of each Researcher/Inventor/Innovator/Creator to ensure that their agreements with third parties do not conflict with their obligations to the University and this Policy. This provision shall apply, in particular, to private consultancy and other research service agreements concluded with third parties. Each Researcher/Inventor/Innovator/Creator should make his or her obligations to the University clear to those with whom such agreements may be made, and should ensure that they are provided with a copy of this Policy.
Researchers/Inventors/Innovators/Creators shall keep the University’s business secret in confidence. In terms of this Policy, inter alia, every fact, information, solution or data related to the research carried out at the University, whose public disclosure, or its acquisition or exploitation by unauthorised persons could damage or endanger the University’s lawful financial, economic or market interests shall qualify as business secret.
Researchers/Inventors/Innovators/Creators shall, when communicating with third parties, exercise all due diligence regarding confidentiality provisions. In this context, a confidential Disclosure Agreement form should be made available for the Researchers/Inventors/Innovators/Creators.
Should any doubt arise concerning conflict of interest or confidentiality issues, Researchers/Inventors/Innovators/Creators are advised to consult with the person or unit designated by the University.
Researchers/Inventors/Innovators/Creators shall promptly report all potential and existing conflict of interest to the person or unit designated by the University in order to reach a solution that is satisfactory to each concerned party.