November 4, 2020

Attendance: Brenda Nichols Jeremy Alltop, Phil Cole, Tracy Benson, Brett Welch, Robert K Bradley, Jerry Lin, Emily Born

Not in attendance: Ian Lian

Meeting called to order by Jerry Lin at 1:01pm

I. Introduction of Committee Members

II. TSUS policy on copyright, intellectual property, and patent (Appendix D in Faculty Handbook)

Jerry Lin: It is important for this committee to understand the TSUS policy for copyrights, intellectual property and patents. The policy document in PDF format has been placed in the shared file folder of the IPC under Microsoft Teams (open MS Teams, click Teams on the left, select Institutional Patent Committee and then click on Files on top). Please review the document before the next committee meeting and contact me if you have any questions that need clarification.

III.Planning for FY21

Jerry Lin: The IPC only meets when there is a patent disclosure case that requires full committee review. In the past, there has been 1-2 disclosure requests every year. Upon receipt of a new disclosure request, ORSPA will perform a desk review and determine whether or not a full committee review is needed. There has not been any new disclosures in FY21 yet. I will keep the committee informed for future meeting as needed.

IV. Updates on ongoing negotiation for full patent application – Dr. Daniel Chen

Jerry Lin: The IPC approved Dr. Daniel Chen’s patent disclosure in Spring 2020. ORSPA was able to solicit a small donation to cover the cost of provisional filing of the patent. The filing has been completed with an expiration date on July 30, 2021. We are currently in discussion with a local refinery to fund the full patent application and the IPC will be engaged in making a decision on IP sharing, if the patent application is funded and approved, at some point in FY21.

V. Roundtable

Phil Cole: I would like for us to think about this, what do we do to encourage our colleagues to write patents?

Jerry Lin: This is a great point. The inventor, mostly likely the faculty members who discloses the patent, can share 30-50% of the IP profits. This is something that the committee can explore and discuss at length on a case-by-case basis.

Jeremy Alltop: In my experience 50% is pretty generous to the faculty member and can be a strong motivator. It also provides a revenue stream to the university to invest these activities.

Meeting adjourned by Jerry Lin at 1:43pm.