The Open Reading Frame

The Open Reading Frame is an open forum. Comments and discussion are welcome on any topic that concerns graduate student life at Columbia University, particularly in the Health Sciences campus. Just click on the Comment button to e-mail your thoughts. The editor of this Page reserves the right to reprint, in whole or in part, all such comments. Comments or contributions that have a traceable and attributable source are preferred.

The issue at hand is what Columbia University policy is with regards your intellectual discoveries and inventions as an officer of the University. A memo has been making its way to every graduate student, professor, postdoc and technician with regards to this issue. The text, with appropriate hyperlinks, is reproduced below:

To: Officers of Instruction, Officers of Research, and Student Officers Subject: Assignment of Inventions to Columbia University Enclosed is an Assignment Agreement which you are required to sign for the assignment to the University of any patentable inventions which you conceive or reduce to practice at Columbia. The signed form should be returned to this office. You will be required to sign this form only once during your Columbia tenure. Note that adjunct faculty members teaching only one course are exempt from this requirement, because the chances of inventions made at Columbia are highly remote. All other individuals holding part-time appointment sin the covered categories must sign and return the form. There may be technicians or other people working on research projects who should also sign; please direct them to sign the Agreement. New officers in the covered categories will be required to sign the Agreement as a condition of appointment or employment. No appointments will be processed without a copy of the signed Agreement attached. Current appointees will not be reappointed for the new year beginning July 1, 1995 until they have signed the Assignment Agreement. The University must obtain an Assignment Agreement from all officers in the above listed categories to be in compliance with federal law and regulations and to implement compliance with the UniversityÕs patent policy. Questions on the University's patent policy should be directed to Philip Lemanski in the Columbia Innovations Enterprise office (4-7957).

The Assignment Agreement mentioned in that memo is usually attached. The text of the Agreement, which everyone who fits the categories mentioned is expected to sign, is reproduced below:

Agreement to Assign to the University Inventions or Discoveries Conceived or Reduced to Practice in the Performance of Sponsored Projects Dr. Jonathan R. Cole Provost Columbia University 116th St. and Broadway New York, NY 10027 Dear Dr. Cole, As a condition to my appointment or continued appointment by Columbia University, I agree to report promptly to the Columbia Innovation Enterprise office any discovery, inventions or algorithm that is or may be patentable, that I may conceive of or first reduce to practice in the course of sponsored projects at Columbia ("Invention"). Sponsored projects are defined as research that is supported in whole or in part by the Federal government or by any other internal or external funding source, or is conducted without such funding but in University facilities. I further agree to assign to Columbia all my rights, title and interest in any Invention and to render such assistance as Columbia reasonably requests to enable Columbia to obtain patents and develop the commercial value of such Inventions. I understand that I will share in any revenues from such Inventions in accordance with the University's Statement of Policy on Proprietary Rights in the Intellectual Products of Faculty Activity, as it may be amended from time to time. Very truly yours, Signature: Print Name: Date:

In some circles, this memo has already elicited some strong reactions. We invite you to put in your two cents about it. Just click on the Comments button to bring up the email form.

The Open Reading Frame is part of the Virtual Vector, which is the online companion to the GSAS Vector, the newsletter for graduate students in the Health Sciences Campus of Columbia University.