The creation of intellectual property and its protection is a core objective Spikey U as it is crucial to the development of academic scholarship, research, teaching and enterprise.

This policy provides a framework for assessment, management and commercial development of intellectual property arising at Spikey U.

Spikey U regards the creation of intellectual property as a core objective which it sees as crucial to the development of knowledge-creation, scholarship and learning. Spikey U maintains its duty to develop policies and support services which create the best possible environment for intellectual property to be transferred into practical use.

Spikey U Intellectual Property (IP) policy provides a framework for assessment, management and value creation of IP generated by its staff and others.

Ownership of IP

The Spikey U will undertake to protect commercially important IP and seek its commercial exploitation for the benefit of staff, learners and the Principal . Net proceeds from commercialisation will be distributed between the Author(s) and Spikey U on a fair and equitable basis as detailed in this policy.

The Patents Act 1977 (as amended), the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, the Registered 5 July 2016 Designs Act 1949, Regulation on Community Designs (6/2002/EC) and the Copyright and Rights in Databases Regulations 1997 (SI 1997/3032) are several pieces of legislation that, together, also make it clear that IP generated by an employee during the course of his/her normal duties belongs to his/her employer.

Spikey U owns 100% of the Intellectual Property created during the performance of the contracted duties of all employees, learners or other individuals.

The copyright in teaching materials whether written or electronic, including aids to teaching for the purposes of the curriculum of a course run by the Spikey U and produced, used or disseminated by the Spikey U belongs to the Spikey U’s Principal.

Spikey U waives its IP rights in Scholarly Materials and/or Patents.

The successful commercialisation of Spikey U generated IP will usually result in the Spikey U receiving a royalty income. This may be either as a lump sum or as a stream of royalty income over a period of time.

Spikey U has a standard scheme for the apportionment of its royalty income which reflects the involvement of the individuals concerned and the Principal.

After costs have been recovered, Net revenues from licences / royalties will be distributed:

The Principal: 60%

The Author: 40%

The Author will not receive a revenue share if he/she does not maintain active relationship with Spikey U. In the event of a dispute which cannot be resolved by mutual discussion amongst the Authors the protection and commercialisation of the IP will not be supported by Spikey U.

Example. Learner pays 30 units per training session, this includes 10 units for the life time license fee for the teaching materials, 20% or 4 units for quality assurance services and 16 units as a contractor’s fee. If Spikey U’s contractor is the author, he/she will receive 4 units tax free as royalty payment. Therefore, Spikey U’s contractor receives 20 units.

Definitions

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) refers to specific legal rights which protect the owners of IP from others using it without permission. They are divided into four main categories: • Patents • Copyright • Design Rights • Trade Mark Rights.

Copyright protects any original works such as original literary works (tables or compilations, computer software programs and databases), dramatic works (dance or mime), musical works (music exclusive of any words or actions) and artistic work (graphic works, photographs, sculptures, collages irrespective of artistic quality, works of architecture and works of artistic craftsmanship), sound recordings, films, broadcasts and typographical arrangements of published editions. Copyright arises automatically.

Design Rights generally protect the appearance of a product resulting from the features such as the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture and/or materials of the product or its orientation. Under UK design law, design rights can be formally registered for up to 25 years, giving legal protection against copying the actual design or any design similar in appearance. The design must be new and have individual character. Some designs may also attract automatic design rights which do not require any formal registration. These designs must be original (i.e. not copied) and not common place. They generally protect 3–dimensional aspects of a design product only. These automatic rights can last for up to 10 years from the date of first marketing the design or 15 years from when the design is first recorded in a design document or an article is made to the design.

Trade Mark rights protect names, logos, jingles, slogans, shapes of goods or packaging. The mark must be capable of being graphically represented and of distinguishing your goods or services from others. Trade marks can be registered for an indefinite period of time. Long term use of unregistered trade marks may also be protected under the UK common law of “Passing off” which protects the goodwill and brand in a business and is used as an alternative remedy to trademark infringement.

Teaching Materials means any materials created within the Spikey U or created on behalf of the Spikey U that are intended to be used or accessed by learners for the purposes of their course of study including course guides, hand-outs and presentation materials (including lecture notes, slides and other audio-visual materials), instruction manuals plus assessment and examination questions.

Scholarly Materials means textbooks, journal articles, conference papers and related presentations, theses and dissertations, popular non-fiction, novels and poems, but excludes any such materials or part of them which can be defined as Teaching Materials or University Materials and excludes computer programmes.

Patents protect any new and inventive product, device, composition or process for up to 20 years from filing a complete patent application. To be patentable, the subject matter must be new, have an inventive step and be capable of use in industry. It must also have “technical character” meaning it must solve a particular technical problem. In Europe and the UK, there are some exclusion from patentability such as ideas, theories, discoveries, thoughts, purely financial, commercial or mathematical methods, games, computer programs, ways of presenting information and methods of treatment, diagnosis or surgery.