Intellectual Property

& Confidentiality
A Researcher’s Guide
Contents

Introduction 2

Section 1
Intellectual Property (IP) 4

Section 2
IP Ownership 13

Section 3
Protecting IP 17

Section 4
Confidentiality 23

Section 5
Using IP 29

Section 6
Commercialisation 32

Section 7
Useful links/contacts 35

1
Introduction

This Guide is intended to act as a reference for use from time to time
during your academic/research life. Its aim is to provide an overview
of the key issues relating to Intellectual Property (IP) which are likely
to arise during your academic/research career. It explains:

n The nature of IP, how you may create it, and how to protect it;

n How to use IP belonging to others safely;

n How IP can be commercialised; and

n The importance of confidentiality.

Your university, NHS Trust or other research institution and/or its

IP commercialisation organisation (or equivalent) will be able to advise
you on these topics and this Guide will act as a prompt for you in these
relationships.

Remember that this is just a guide and not a substitute for you taking
your own independent professional advice. It has also to be read in the
context of your own institution’s published guiding principles, mission
and objectives.

This Guide was originally commissioned and created by Mr Clive Rowland,

CEO, The University of Manchester Intellectual Property Limited and
Ms Janet Knowles, Partner, Eversheds LLP.

©The University of Manchester Intellectual Property Limited and Eversheds LLP

2004-2010. All rights reserved.

2
Contact details
Clive Rowland
The University of Manchester Intellectual Property Limited
E-mail: clive.rowland@umip.com
www.umip.com

Janet Knowles
Eversheds LLP
E-mail: janetknowles@eversheds.com
www.eversheds.com

3
Intellectual Property Section 1

What is IP? IP is a term used to describe the rights which protect your ideas
and other forms of intellectual creation. It is made up of a bundle of different
rights. Some rights have to be registered to be effective, others arise
automatically. IP can be split into 6 main categories as illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1

Patents Copyright Database Rights

protect inventions for protects items such as protect collections of
products or processes. written works, diagrams, works or data (e.g.
The invention must not charts, computer source results, samples or
have been thought of code, photographs, patient information)
before, must be music or even which have been
inventive and must be performances. Copyright systematically arranged
capable of industrial arises automatically once and are accessible
application. You have to your idea/knowledge electronically or by
apply to the Intellectual has been expressed in other means. There is
Property Office to permanent form. It must no need to register.
register a patent. have involved some
Patents last for 20 years. element of creation
and skill and not copied
(substantially) from
elsewhere.

IP

Know-How Designs Trade Marks

is any secret, technical protect 3D objects or KELLOGG’S, MARS,
information which is designs applied to ORANGE and iPod are
valuable and them, e.g. laboratory all successful trade
identifiable, including equipment or the marks. Their value lies
results, experimental design of a teapot in the fact that they
techniques, formulae, or the design on denote the origin and
chemical structures, wallpaper. They can quality of the products
source code etc; not arise automatically or they relate to. Trade
strictly a form of IP but can be registered with marks can arise
equally important. the UK IPO. automatically or can be
registered with the
Trade Marks Registry at
the UK IPO.

4
Intellectual Property Section 1

And in a little more detail...

Patents
Patents are, potentially, the most valuable type of IP. Patents protect
inventions which relate to a product and/or a process to make a product.
They arise particularly from research & development in the medical,
science, technology and engineering fields.

Once a patent has been granted, it offers the owner a ‘monopoly’ right.
This means that only the owner, or someone else with the owner’s consent,
can use the invention for commercial purposes. Say you have thought of an
invention for a new type of tea bag which can be used 50 times without
losing any flavour! Useful. This invention will be patentable if: (1) it has not
been disclosed publicly anywhere in the world prior to filing the patent
application; (2) it is inventive; and (3) it is capable of industrial application,
(essentially any commercial, medical or other practical use).

If you think your invention is potentially patentable it is essential that the

details of the invention are kept secret until the application for the patent is
made. Disclosure of the key features of the invention before that will make
your patent application invalid and so may be refused or be open to
challenge in the future if granted.

Methods of disclosure may include publishing details of the invention:

n in a journal, book, poster or other publication

n via a website other electronic means
n in an oral presentation
n to someone who is not an employee of your organisation, such as a
student, or is not bound by confidentiality to keep such information
secret.
Demonstration/promotion of the invention in a public place is also
publication. Confidentiality is considered in greater detail in Section 4 –
Confidentiality.

5
Intellectual Property Section 1

Q: How do I know if my invention is already in the public domain?

A: A previous disclosure can include anything from a published patent,
document, information contained in a book, article, journal, TV
documentary, demonstration or even just common practice. Whilst you
cannot expect to find everything, a good starting point is to see if there
are any existing patents which relate to your invention. It is easier than
ever to find patent information as the format of patents has become
increasingly standardised and there are many user-friendly websites that
you can search.

Intellectual Property Section 1

If the patent/patent application of interest is published in a foreign language
it is possible to check via the Internet or other patent databases to see if an
equivalent document has been published in English in another country (such
as the UK, Europe, PCT,USA, Canada or Australia for example) – this is often
called “patent equivalent” searching.
If the patent/patent application of interest has only been published in a
foreign language, you can either get a machine translation of the text into
English, a formal translation of the relevant part of the patent or obtain an
English abstract of the patent.
It is a good idea to carry out a patent search before you start a project in
order to try and ensure that your idea has not been disclosed in the general
or patent literature.
If you are not experienced in patent searching you can obtain advice and
assistance from the range of Patent Libraries located throughout the United
Kingdom. There is also a wealth of information on-line. Both the UK
Intellectual Property Office and the US Patent and Trade Mark Office have
on-line services (www.ipo.gov.uk and www.uspto.gov). You can also connect
directly to esp@cenet which gives access to details of many patents
worldwide (http://gb.espacenet.com).
Alternatively there are firms and consultants based throughout the UK which
specialise in patent searching and related services. Most firms of Patent Agents
will offer 30-60 minutes of consultation free of charge. If you think you need
this help, contact your IP commercialisation organisation for further help.

6
Intellectual Property Section 1

To obtain patent protection for your invention you will need a patent
specification to be written. This should ideally be done by a qualified Patent
Agent to make sure good patent protection is obtained. The specification
will describe the invention and define the desired monopoly (in the form of
claims). It will usually be initially filed at the UK Intellectual Property Office.

Although the UK patent filing is free of charge the Patent Agent’s time and
effort in drafting the patent specification and formulating the claims has to
be paid for. This can typically cost anything from around about £1500 to
£6000 + depending on the complexity of the technology, the length of the
patent specification and the number of claims filed.

This initial patent filing will only provide protection in the UK. To obtain
patent protection abroad you will need to file corresponding patent
applications to cover all countries that are of commercial importance
to you.

Foreign patent protection normally needs to be done within a year of filing

the initial UK patent application and can typically cost £30-50,000 –
(sometimes more) but the costs are staggered over the life of the patent
(up to 20 years).

Figure 2
30
UK – PCT, US, EP, JP, AU, CA
25
Costs (£000’s)

UK & US & EP
20

UK – PCT, US, EP
15
UK & US Only

10

UK Only
5

0
0 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48
Months

Used with the kind permission of Marks & Clerk.

7
Intellectual Property Section 1

Know-How
Know-How is not IP as such but can be just as valuable. What is Know-How?
Know-How is technical information, knowledge and skill e.g. a procedure,
a process, an identifiable knowledgeable way of doing something. That
information must be secret.

R&D projects and course-work can result in extremely valuable technical

information being created. The only way you can really protect your valuable
Know-How is through confidentiality. Confidentiality is considered in greater
detail in Section 4 – Confidentiality.

Copyright
Have you ever written a thesis or article, written up an experiment, drawn
a diagram or even recorded a presentation you have given on DVD? All
can be protected by copyright.

There is also copyright in music, broadcasts, sound recordings, computer

software, photographs, films and typographical arrangements of published
editions. Copyright does not generally protect against 3D reproduction of
items from industrial drawings or plans (e.g. models created from
blueprints). They are instead protected by design rights or as registered
designs (see Designs section on page 11).

Copyright protects the form in which you express your idea and not the idea
itself. For instance, the copyright in the written words of a thesis may belong
to one person but the patent over the invention described in the thesis may
belong to someone else.

Unlike a patent, there is no need to register copyright in the UK; it arises

automatically. All that is required is mainly that the work must be original
i.e. not copied from another source.

There are different periods of duration for copyright, depending on the type
of work. In respect of a written article, copyright would last for the life of the
writer plus another 70 years.

8
Intellectual Property Section 1

Q: If I write up an experiment, does the fact that the written piece

of work is protected by copyright prevent anyone from using the
results or other information contained in it?

A: No. Copyright only protects the manner in which you have expressed
yourself i.e. the text, style and layout of the written document. It does
not protect your ideas, results or conclusions. Whilst another person
would be prevented from copying your write-up word for word or in
a manner which was substantially similar to yours, they would not be
prevented from using the results or other information. This can instead
be protected as confidential information (see Know-How section on
page 9) but you need to keep the written work secret.

Q: I have been recently asked by a publisher to waive my moral

rights in an article I have written. What does this mean?

A: Moral Rights are personal rights which belong to the author (e.g. the
writer) of a piece of work. They are nothing to do with what is right or
wrong! Moral Rights include the right of an author to be identified as
such. This right has to be specifically asserted to be effective i.e. just
write on the work: “Joe Bloggs has asserted his right, under the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, to be identified as the author
of this work.“

Other moral rights include the right not to have your work altered
in any derogatory manner and the right not to have the work of
somebody else falsely attributed to you. These do not have to be
asserted. Moral Rights do not exist in computer software or in any work
created by an employee. Whilst Moral Rights cannot be transferred,
they can be waived. However, there is no reason why you should
automatically agree to waive yours. Always check with your supervisor
or relevant institution representative.

9
Intellectual Property Section 1

Q: I have recently compiled a database which holds the location

reference numbers for all the cytology samples I have used over
the past 6 months. Is this protected by copyright?

A: Yes, if it involved skill in creating it. It may also be protected

separately by “Database Right” (see Database Rights section on
page 12).

Designs
Designs of or on 3-D objects can be protected by design rights which arise
automatically or they can be registered. There are different types – UK
registered and unregistered designs, and Community registered and
unregistered designs. Community registered and unregistered designs offer
protection throughout the EU, not just the UK. Each type is a little different
in the criteria required for protection and the level of protection available.
A few examples are set out below:

UK Unregistered Design Rights can arise automatically in all or just parts

of a design. The design must not have been copied from another source
and it must not be commonplace in the relevant design field. For example,
a design for some scissors, unless very unusually designed, would likely be
commonplace in the field of cutting equipment. There are exceptions; UK
unregistered design right will not protect any kind of surface decoration
(e.g. an engraved design on the scissors). Nor will it protect any design
which is dictated by the way it has been made and any design which has
been created to fit around or inside another object (e.g. a plug and
socket) or to match with another object (e.g. a door panel of
a car). UK unregistered design rights will last for the
longer of 10 years from when the object was first
marketed or 15 years from the date of the
actual design document.

10
Intellectual Property Section 1

UK Registered Designs can be registered with the Design Registry at the

UK Intellectual Property Office. The registration process is not as expensive
and does not take as long as for patents. UK registered designs can be used
to protect more of the design than would be capable of UK unregistered
design right protection. Surface decoration e.g. any etching, engraving or
decoration on the scissors, can also be protected.

To be registrable, the design must not have been previously disclosed to

the public (unless during a 12 month ‘grace period’ immediately before
the application for the design registration). The design must also have
‘individual character’. This means that the design must not produce any
notion of ‘déjà vu’. Designs which are dictated solely by their function
e.g. indentations on a plastic container to help with grip, will not be
registrable. UK registered designs can last for 25 years.

Community Registered Designs follow much the same criteria as for UK

registered designs. They will also last for up to 25 years.

Community Unregistered Design Rights arise automatically in the same

way as UK unregistered design rights. However, they are slightly different.
Community unregistered design rights only last for 3 years. The same
criteria are applied as for UK and community registered designs i.e. the
design must not have been previously disclosed and must have individual
character. Surface decoration can also be protected.

Database Rights
Database Right protects a collection of independent works, data or other
materials which have been systematically or methodically arranged. They
must also be accessible by electronic or other means. This obviously covers
electronic databases, but could in theory cover biological materials
collections, for instance.

Like copyright, there is no need to register, however, the protection only

lasts for 15 years from when the database was compiled.

11
Intellectual Property Section 1

Trade Marks
It is difficult to avoid trade marks in day to day life. PEPSI, EASYJET, SHELL,
GUINNESS, iPod, SELFRIDGES, Virgin are all examples. Trade marks denote
the origin and the quality of the products they relate to. A well-known trade
mark is often the most identifiable element of a successful product or
service. They will often make a customer prefer one product over another.
Selecting the trade mark can therefore be crucial and so protection of it is
fundamental. The most successful brands are often those that are
completely distinctive, e.g. KODAK.

Trade marks can be registered in the UK and/or throughout the EU and/or

in other countries/regions. They can also arise automatically if a mark has
been used and has consequently built a reputation. Unregistered trade
marks are, however, more difficult to enforce. If you can, it is always better
to register.

A registered trade mark needs to be able to distinguish the goods or

services of one person from those of another. It must be:

n distinctive, e.g. “MARS” for chocolate bars;

n it must not be descriptive of the goods or services to which it is applied,
such as ‘BOOTS’ for shoes; and
n it must not be deceptive or contrary to public morality.
Objections can be raised to a proposed trade mark, by the owner of an
existing identical or similar trade mark registered for identical or similar
goods or services. Trade marks are registered in different classes, which
broadly distinguish different types of goods or services. Once registered
it will initially last for 10 years, following which it can be renewed every
10 years.

12
Intellectual Property Section 1

Set out below is a summary of the types of IP which might typically arise
in or be affected by activities within a university or other type of
research institution:

Design Rights

Trade Marks
Know-How

Copyright

Database
Patents

Rights
Activity

Research Information – preparing

and collating results/methods
4 4 4
Publishing or presenting research,
academic or technical papers
4 4 4 4 4 4
Using others’ research papers
or publications 4 4 4
Market analysis
4 4 4 4
Industrial design projects
4 4 4 4
Contract research
4 4 4 4 4
Consultancy projects
4 4 4 4 4 4
Receiving important confidential
information 4
Giving out important
confidential information
4 4
Using computer software
4 4 4 4
Developing computer software
4 4 4 4
Preparing lecture notes
4 4
Responding to technical queries
4

13
IP Ownership Section 2

Will I own the IP I create?

Whilst there is a number of situations in which you will either create or
contribute to the creation of IP, you may not necessarily own the IP in question.

General Position
In most cases, if an employee creates IP during the course of their employment,
their employer will own the IP. This is unless anything has been agreed to the
contrary. University employees will usually include professors, readers, lecturers,
technicians, research staff, support staff and administrators. If you are working
within an NHS Trust, it may not always be clear whether a nurse or doctor who
creates IP has done so in the course of their employment, particularly if their
main role is that of a patient carer. It is becoming increasingly common for NHS
employment contracts to refer specifically to IP. Always check what is relevant.

If you are a student, you will not normally be classed as an employee unless,
in addition to you being registered as a student, you also have a contract
of employment with your university/institution e.g. as a research assistant. You
will however have a student contract which you should check.

In certain instances, particularly within NHS Trusts, an individual may be a

part-time employee or jointly appointed with an external organisation. There
may be honorary contracts in place. The IP arrangements should always
be checked.

IP Policies
Many universities or other research institutions have IP policies which specify
situations where the university/institution, as an employer, waives its rights to
ownership of IP. It may also refer to situations where the university/institution
claims ownership of IP created by students. This may vary in relation to
undergraduate and postgraduate students. It may depend on whether particular
university or other facilities have been used or work is related to a specific
project. The university/institution may also have different approaches with
different types of IP. For example, a university may claim ownership of
patentable inventions but not of copyright in certain scholarly materials.
Take time to familiarise yourself with your university/institution IP policy. Your
university’s Registrar or Trust Manager or equivalent will have copies or it may
be on your organisation’s intranet.

14
IP Ownership Section 2

Originators and Contributors

It is essential in IP law to be certain who was the actual creator of the IP. The
person(s) who have made the creative leap are the originator(s). Different
specific terms are used for the originator(s) of different types of IP. For instance
in the case of patents they are “inventor(s)” and in the case of literary
copyright works they are “author(s)”.

Other individuals may have worked with the originator(s) to develop the
original idea or work, but if they have not created anything new in IP terms,
then they are not originator(s) but simply contributor(s).

Why is it important to distinguish between originator(s) and contributor(s)?

Well, for instance, in the case of patents, only the originator(s) of the invention
are named as inventors on the patent. Any reward sharing, from successful
business applications of the IP under an IP policy, is often only applicable to
the originator(s) and not to the contributor(s).

Collaborative/Funded Work
If you are working with or for an industrial sponsor or a different university/
institution, check the terms of the funding arrangements e.g. of the grant, the
contract or the collaboration agreement. This is likely to specify who will own
the IP created.

Group Work
Consider whether you have produced work on your own or whether anyone
else has been involved in its creation. It can be more difficult to establish
ownership if a number of other staff/students has been involved in the
same project.

If you write a paper in conjunction with other authors, copyright in that paper
may be jointly owned. Similarly, if you develop a patentable invention jointly
within a research team, that invention may also be jointly owned. You will
probably need to obtain any joint owners’ consents if you intend to do
anything with that IP.

15
IP Ownership Section 2

Consider individuals who may have created IP from another research

institution or any other external organisation. IP contributed may either be
owned by the individual or that individual’s research institution or connected
organisation. Check any other university/institution IP policies. Consider any
individuals who may have created IP but then left your team to go elsewhere.
They may have taken IP with them if it belonged to them.

Consultants
Consider whether any external consultants have contributed to the
development of the materials. Consultants are not classed as employees.
IP created by a consultant is likely to be owned by that consultant even
if they have been paid to do the work, unless stated otherwise in the
individual consultancy agreement. This is particularly relevant in any NHS
Trust environment. A Trust may often appoint medical clinicians. The clinician
may not be an employee of the Trust and therefore IP may belong to the
clinician or their employer.

Why should I not own the IP which I create?

At the start of a project you may be asked to sign an acknowledgement
which states that any IP you may create during the project shall be owned
by your university/institution. This, and any other situations, where your
university/institution may claim ownership to the IP, is done for a reason.
If an invention is made which is capable of commercialisation, it is very
unlikely that either you created the invention alone or you would have
the funding or resources to patent the invention and take it through to
commercialisation (see Section 6 – Commercialisation). IP commercialisation
and similar organisations are there to help with this role. If all the IP is in one
place, it makes it a lot easier to file applications and deal commercially with
the invention. Universities, in particular, will often operate some form of
policy so that you can share in the rewards of the commercialisation.
Contact your IP commercialisation organisation for further details.

16
IP Ownership Section 2

This table summarises some of the different factors which may be used to
determine who owns the IP.

Are you a Are you a What type How and Where did
member of student? of IP have with whom you create
staff? you created? did you the IP?
create the IP?

Academic Undergraduate? Copyright Created on At a previous

staff? materials, your own? employer’s?
Postgraduate? e.g. teaching
Academic- materials, With a group? Using your
related staff? Employed? employer’s
articles or With your
Sponsored? source code? facilities e.g.
Non-academic supervisor? laboratory
staff? Inventions? equipment,
With external
Research staff? funding? computers?

Patient carer? In
collaboration
Jointly with any
appointed? external party?

17
Protecting IP Section 3

What can I do to help protect any IP which I create?

Patents
Some practical tips to help protect your inventions, including how to
register a patent are set out below:

Practical tips

If you come up with a new invention, is it patentable

(see Section 1)? Consider whether your invention has
been previously disclosed – e.g. look at existing patents,
key word searches. Use the internet, in particular
esp@cenet.

Keep both originals and copies of all notes, reports,

drawings, lab books etc. relating to the invention in a
secure place. You should try to record as much detail as
possible. Ensure all originals and copies are dated and are
sufficiently detailed (and clear!) to identify the invention
and how it works. Get your supervisor to sign and date
laboratory notebooks on a regular basis.

Keep the invention confidential (see Section 4 for

practical tips on confidentiality). If you need to disclose
any information, you should first speak to your
supervisor.

If, having done your initial searches/investigations you

still think your idea is patentable, let your supervisor
know and contact your IP commercialisation organisation
to set up a meeting.

If it is decided to go ahead, a patent application can be

drawn up, usually with the help of a patent agent, and
filed at the UK IPO. Once filed, you can indicate on any
relevant marketing literature, publications or products
“Patent applied for, No. [NUMBER]”. Do not do this
before you have filed, as it is illegal to do so.

18
Protecting IP Section 3

The UK IPO will perform a preliminary examination

and search of the application to ensure the invention is
new. The Intellectual Property Office would then send
out a detailed search report and the application will be
filed. However a full examination is then required
during which the Intellectual Property Office will
decide whether the application can be granted. This is
a long, painstaking progress which can take 2 to 3
years (longer if you extend to cover countries beyond
the UK).

Patent granted. You can use “Patent granted, No:

[NUMBER] [2009] [UK]” on any relevant literature,
publications or products.

Know-How
Some practical tips to help protect your know-how are set out in Section 4.

19
Protecting IP Section 3

Copyright
There are no special formalities required to protect your work in the UK.
This is not always the case in other countries. The good thing about
copyright is that it arises automatically and it is free! However, as there is
no register to refer to, this sometimes makes it difficult to prove ownership.
Some practical tips to help overcome this and protect copyright are set
out below:

Practical tips

Keep all originals of your copyright work such as

notes, drafts, sketches, drawings, videos etc. in a
secure place.

Record the date you created the copyright work: a

good way to do this is put the work in an envelope,
post it to yourself or somebody independent, such as
a solicitor, and leave the envelope unopened. The
postal stamp can be used to demonstrate the date
before which it had been created.

Place a copyright notice (for example, ©J.Bloggs 2010

or ©University of Knowledge 2010) on the piece of
© work which will act as a useful reminder to anyone
using the work that copyright exists and that action
may be taken.

Try inserting some irrelevant but intentional mistakes

or anomalies in your work (e.g. a repeated line of
source code, or an unusual spelling mistake). This can
be a good way of illustrating that someone has copied
your work if their work also includes the same mistake
or anomaly.

Protection of work on the internet is more tricky as it

is extremely difficult to police the internet effectively.
Therefore, don’t publish anything on the internet that
you or your university/institution would not wish to
be copied. Perhaps just publish excerpts, and leave
people to come back to you for the main work.

20
Protecting IP Section 3

Designs
Some practical tips to help protect your designs are set out below:

Practical tips

Keep all originals of your design drawings, sketches,

samples, models and prototypes.

Keep all these materials in a secure location.

Record all dates of creation and the dates when you

may have disclosed the design, e.g. at a trade fair or
in any publication.

Contact your supervisor and/or IP commercialisation

organisation who can help decide what type of
protection is suitable and whether or not to apply
for registration.

21
Protecting IP Section 3

Database Rights
Some practical tips to help protect your database rights are set out below:

Practical tips

Keep all your notes, records of telephone

conversations and meetings, e-mails, contact details
and other correspondence which you used to collect
and compile the information contained in your
database.

Keep all your working drafts and original copies of

your database in a secure place. If stored
electronically ensure it is password protected.

Record the date when you created the final database:

again, a good way to do this is to put the work in an
envelope unopened.

Alternatively, if stored electronically, e-mail the

database to yourself or somebody independent, such
as a solicitor. The postal stamp or the date of the
e-mail can be used to demonstrate the date before
which it was created.

Place a copyright notice (for example, © J Bloggs

© 2010 or © University of Knowledge 2010) at the

bottom of the database.

Insert some intentional but irrelevant mistakes or

anomalies in the database.

22
Protecting IP Section 3

Trade Marks
Some practical tips to help protect your trade marks are set out below:

Practical tips

Consider in which countries you would want to

protect your trade mark – i.e. where would the
products or services be sold or used?

Have a look on the Trade Marks section of the UK

Intellectual Property Office website (www.ipo.gov.uk).
Click on ‘Trademarks’ and then ‘Online TM Services’
then ‘Find Trade Marks’ then ‘By mark text or image’.
You can then have a look to see if there are any
similar or identical trade marks already registered.

The same website contains details on how to register

a trade mark. Contact your IP commercialisation
organisation – they may be able to put you in contact
with a Trade Mark Agent to help with the process.

Use the ™ symbol when your trade mark is

™ unregistered.

Use the ® symbol when the trade mark is registered.

® DO NOT do this before it is registered. It can be a

criminal offence to do so!

23
Confidentiality Section 4

Could your work or other information or results be useful to someone else

if they ever got hold of it? Could any of your work be potentially patentable
or registrable as a design? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, it
is important to consider confidentiality. Confidentiality is the best way to
protect your Know-How.

The ‘someone else’ could be an individual from a company. They could be

a member of another research group or someone from another institution.
They could even be a friend or relative. The information may include
results, chemical formulae, information from laboratory notebooks,
experimental procedures or techniques, information concerning the
handling or programming of equipment or source code. It may be personal
or commercially sensitive information such as customer lists or results from
market research. These are just a few examples.

It does not matter how informal a conversation or meeting may seem.

You must always consider the nature of the information you are disclosing
and whether, in the circumstances, it is appropriate to disclose. Let’s look
at a few examples.

James has developed the source code for a new computer program. If
someone else is able to access the source code they may well be able to
write a program to undertake the same task but using different code. This
could then be used or developed further into a product which could be
extremely lucrative. The source code is therefore highly-confidential
information and would need to be protected from disclosure.

Mary has invented, in conjunction with her team, a novel technique for
protein analysis. This invention is potentially patentable. One of the criteria
for the grant of a patent is that the invention must be new and must not
have been previously disclosed to the public. If any information relating to
the invention is disclosed before filing a patent application, this would
completely stop a patent from being granted in most countries.

24
Confidentiality Section 4

Janice has been working on a summer project. The project has been funded
by an industrial sponsor – Inventive Concepts plc. At the beginning of the
project Janice was asked to sign an acknowledgement to say that she
understood and agreed to comply with the terms of the R&D Agreement
between the university and Inventive Concepts plc. She signed. One of the
terms contained in the R&D Agreement stated that any information
generated during the project must be kept strictly confidential and not
disclosed to anyone else who was not directly involved in the project.
Janice must therefore keep the relevant information confidential.

Chris has a consultancy contract with Security Finance Limited relating to

work on cryptography. The consultancy contract contains a confidentiality
clause. Chris needs to be careful not to disclose any of the confidential
information which Security Finance Limited supplies, when carrying out
other work.

Alex has been able to read a thesis from Alex’s university which is subject
to restricted access because of a confidentiality agreement with Future
Research Ltd. Alex wants to use some of the information from it as part of
some other research. If Alex wants to publish the results of the new research
and this includes information from the restricted access thesis, Alex will
need consent from Future Research Ltd. If Alex quotes from the thesis,
consent from the owner of the copyright in the thesis may also be needed.

Undoubtedly, there will be situations where disclosure cannot be avoided.

In these circumstances you will want to ensure that the person to whom
you disclose the information not only keeps it secret but also does not
use it improperly. If you show someone confidential information for one
project, your agreement should stop them using the information for
another project.

25
Confidentiality Section 4

To whom can I disclose information?

At law employees have duties of confidentiality to their employer. If you are
an employee it is therefore not a problem as such to share your employer’s
confidential information with colleagues who are employed by the same
employer. Remember – students, visiting academics, secondees and
consultants will not necessarily be employees. Accordingly, if confidential
information is to be disclosed to any of them it is always better to try and
have a form of written confidentiality agreement in place. In the case of
students, this may form part of their student contract.

What should I do to protect the information?

You may have heard references made to a ‘CDA’ or ‘NDA’. These are
abbreviations for “Confidential Disclosure Agreement” or “Non-Disclosure
Agreement”. If you have to disclose important information always try and
put a written agreement of confidentiality in place. The best thing to do is
contact your Research Office or IP commercialisation organisation or your
supervisor who will no doubt have a sample confidentiality agreement for
you to use and will be able to help with putting it in place. Remember
you are probably not authorised to sign a confidentiality agreement for
your institution.

These agreements are all to be taken very seriously. Any information and
discussion covered by them must be treated in confidence and not
disclosed to anyone else, except as set out in the agreement. If there is any
breach of any agreement, the other party may be entitled to seek financial
and other compensation (damages) not only from your employer but
possibly from you personally. This is obviously a very serious matter. In an
environment like a university or NHS Trust it is difficult to supervise closely
compliance with all the agreements that have been signed. There is also, of
course, a natural desire to publish and discuss work openly, which may on
occasions give rise to individuals not realising the importance or the extent
of any agreements that have already been signed. Extra care therefore
needs to be taken.

26
Confidentiality Section 4

Can I present at a conference?

If you disclose the key information about your invention or design
whether at a conference or elsewhere, it can stop you getting IP protection.
You may, however, be able to make some general statements without
disclosing your invention. Discuss this in advance with your IP
commercialisation organisation.

If you disclose your design, you will have 12 months to file the application.
Speak to your IP commercialisation organisation immediately.

If you disclose your invention, you may still be able to get patent protection
in the USA if you file the application within 12 months, but anyone will be
able to use your invention almost everywhere else in the world.

So if you are about to publish at a conference or elsewhere, speak to your

IP commercialisation organisation as early as possible. They will look to file
an application for a patent before publication, if the subject material has
good business prospects.

You can publish openly once a patent application has been filed. There can
be some advantage in waiting a little longer before publishing, in case any
claims of your patent are not accepted by the Intellectual Property Office.
These rejected aspects of your application can then only ever be protected
by confidentiality.

27
Confidentiality Section 4

What else can I do to protect the information?

Practical tips

Consider whether confidential or sensitive information

is accessible by other students or staff. Be careful
about leaving information visible on desk tops. If
necessary keep information in locked cabinets or use
password security for electronic storage.

Keep a record of what has been disclosed during any

meeting/conversation. If a batch of information is to
be passed over, create a list of the information and, if
possible, get the recipient to sign the list by way of
acknowledgement.

Create some minutes or written record of

conversations. This does not have to be overly formal.
Something in bullet point form will suffice. A copy of
this record can then be sent to the recipient.

If information is confidential then it never does any

LY L harm to mark it as such. It has the additional benefit
CT
T RI NTIA of putting the recipient on notice of the confidentiality
S
IDE
O NF of the information and hopefully reminding them to
C
treat it carefully. Don’t be afraid to tell the recipient
you expect them to treat it carefully.

Never disclose more information than is necessary. If

an individual or company has refused to enter into a
CDA, instead of disclosing specific details relating to
an invention – just refer to the advantages the
invention would offer the recipient. Whet their
appetite. Hopefully they will then become interested
to find out more and enter into a CDA.

28
Confidentiality Section 4

Confidentiality Checklist
n With whom am I meeting or speaking?

n Are they members of my team, my research organisation or employed

by my employer?

n What information am I disclosing?

n Is this information sensitive or otherwise valuable – could it be misused

by the recipient?

n Is this information potentially patentable or registrable as a design?

n Am I or is my employer under any obligation of confidentiality not to

disclose this information?

n Have I asked the other person to sign a CDA?

n Have I marked any of the information as “Confidential”?

n Have I taken notes of the meeting/conversation from which it can be

seen what I have disclosed and what has been said?

Remember – if in doubt, always speak to your supervisor or IP

commercialisation organisation.

29
Using IP Section 5

Q: When should I be careful when using IP belonging

to others? A: Always!
In the previous sections we have concentrated on what IP is and when and
how you are likely to create it. Don’t forget that other people, including
fellow academics or colleagues you may be working with, may also have IP.
Others’ IP can be extremely useful, but you must bear in mind what you
can and cannot not do with it.

Let’s take patents and copyright as an example. If you make a product or

use a process which has been patented by another person or company, you
may infringe the patent rights of that other person or company. Similarly, if
you copy a piece of work which is protected by copyright of another person
or company, you may infringe that person’s or company’s copyright. This is
very serious because, if you are infringing, the owner of the IP may get an
injunction to stop you using the IP anymore and/or may sue you and/or
your employer for damages.

There are, however, exceptions, which may allow you to do limited things
without infringing the rights of the owner. Examples are set out below:

Patents

You can make a patented product or use a patented process for research
purposes providing it is research area on the subject matter of the
patent. This means that you can also do this to modify or improve the
invention to which the patent relates.

3
You should and can use patents as a source of information. Much of the
information in patents is never published anywhere else and will often
contain sufficient detail in the text and illustrations so that you, as
experts, can understand how to recreate the invention.
You may want to look through patents simply for inspiration to prevent
you starting to do research on something that has already been done.
You can search to see what other research has been carried on in the
same sort of field as yours and in addition what progress has been
made, on which you might be able to build.
Always check whether the patent in question has been allowed to lapse.
In this case you can use the invention freely.

30
Using IP Section 5

Patents

You cannot make a patented product or use a patented process for any

7
commercial purpose unless you have the consent to do so from the
owner of the patent, nor can you do so for research purposes if the
research area does not relate to the subject matter of the patent.
If you are in any way unsure whether the work you are involved in may
infringe an existing patent, have a look on the Intellectual Property Office
website to see if there appear to be any related patents in existence or
have a word with your supervisor who may be able to look into
obtaining more detailed searches for you.

Copyright

It is only an infringement of copyright to copy a piece of work without

the consent of the owner of the copyright. If you are photocopying a
journal or book, it is possible that your university/institution may already
have obtained the consent from the copyright owner through its
subscription to a blanket licence through the Copyright Licensing Agency
(CLA) or other collecting society. This is also common practice within
libraries. Have a look to see if there are any notices next to the

3
photocopier relating to this. If you are unsure, contact either the
university librarian or your relevant CLA representative for copyright
clearance.

You can copy a section of a copyright work, providing it is not a

substantial part of it. Be careful with this – there are no hard and fast
rules on how much constitutes a substantial part. Substantial is about the
quality (importance) of the part copied, not the quantity. There are also
allowances for use of limited sections of work where they are being
copied for the purposes of instruction within a university. Again, have a
look to see if there are any notices next to the photocopier which may
contain some guidelines.

You can also use a piece of a copyright work for non-commercial

purposes if you are using it for research or private study or for the
purposes of criticism and review. You must clearly acknowledge any
reference to the work in question.

31
Using IP Section 5

Copyright

Whilst there are other situations in which it may be possible to use

copyright work without infringement, these are more limited in use and
practical application. If you are unsure, it is always best to contact your
relevant representative for further guidance.

Unless you have obtained the copyright owner’s consent or your use
falls into any of the categories above, you risk infringing copyright if you
copy the work or permit another person to copy the work.

7
It is important to remember that in any single web page there can be
dozens of different copyrights. If you want to print out a web page,
or copy and paste anything from a web page the same rules will apply.
Check the copyright notice on the web page, it may be that the
copyright owner has already offered consent. If the copying is not
specifically covered in the page’s own notice, then you should obtain
specific permission – this can most easily be done by e-mail. If in
doubt, always refer to your internet policy information or contact your
relevant representative.

Q: I was recently provided with a number of tissue samples from

an outside company for my project. I also received a document
referred to as an ‘MTA’ with the samples. What should I do?

A: MTAs are Materials Transfer Agreements. This agreement is likely to

contain a number of restrictions on what you can and cannot do with
the samples, how you must deal with the results and whether, for
example, you must return any back to the company. It is important to
read through the terms carefully and speak to your supervisor and/or
your IP commercialisation organisation. They will let you know whether
it is appropriate and who is authorised to sign it. You must remember
that when any kind of materials are provided to you it is possible they
may contain confidential information or they may even be protected by
a patent. By using materials which are protected by a patent in a
manner which the owner has not permitted you may risk infringement.
Some MTAs may even try to take ownership of IP created by you.

32
Commercialisation Section 6

What is commercialisation? Commercialisation is where property is used

or disposed of in return for payment, whether in cash, in kind or in any
other form.

In the same way as a house can be bought and sold, IP can also be sold
or transferred to another owner. This is referred to as an assignment.

IP can also be licensed. This is similar to a ‘lease’ of a flat. The IP owner

permits someone else (the “Licensee”) to use the IP in return for payment.
If the IP has been used to make a particular product, payment will often be
made in the form of a “royalty”. The royalty may be a percentage cut of
the price the product has been sold for by the Licensee.

The table below illustrates some main points to remember:

Assignment Licence

An assignment transfers The owner of the IP remains the

ownership. same.
Once assigned, the original owner The licence can be limited in time.
will lose their rights to the IP. If
The licence can also be limited in
the original owner continues to
scope:
use the IP after assignment, they
may risk infringing the rights of An Exclusive licence means that the
the new owner. owner can only permit one licensee
to use the IP and cannot license that
You can assign ownership of part
same IP to anyone else nor use the
of copyright e.g. English
IP itself.
language rights.
A Sole licence means the same as an
Exclusive licence except that the
owner of the IP can use the IP itself.

A Non-Exclusive licence means that

the owner of the IP can license to
more than one licensee.

The manner in which the IP should

be used and the field/research area
in which it can be used can be
defined and limited.

33
Commercialisation Section 6

If you would like more detailed information about licensing IP please refer
to “Licensing: A Researcher’s Guide”.

Here are some examples of when a licence or an assignment of IP may

be involved:

n writing an article for a publisher.

n franchising out a set of teaching materials for use by another university

or company.

n permitting another to use equipment or a specific technique you

have developed.

n permitting another access to your results and other data for the purposes
of further development/experimentation.

n permitting another to incorporate a product you have developed

into another.

If IP has been developed with a lot of potential for commercialisation, it

may be appropriate to transfer the IP into a separate company which is
dedicated to its commercialisation. These are commonly referred to as
‘spin-out companies’ (or ‘spin-offs’ or ‘start-ups’). If you would like more
information about spin-out companies please refer to “Spin-out Companies:
A Researcher’s Guide”.

Your IP commercialisation organisation is experienced in identifying and

putting in place appropriate arrangements and agreements. They have
many contacts and access to professional support. It is not always
straightforward and there are many things to consider. If you think you
have IP which can be commercialised or you are approached by any outside
organisation, you should first contact your supervisor and/or your relevant
IP commercialisation organisation to discuss the options.

34
Commercialisation Section 6

Case Study
Arnold has just been contacted by an editor from Semi-Conductors
Monthly asking whether he would write an article on his conclusions
from a project he has recently been involved in with his supervisor.
Arnold is asked to sign an agreement before writing the article. Arnold
notices one clause which states “I hereby assign all intellectual property
rights in or relating to the Article”. What should Arnold do?

First Arnold should speak with his supervisor.

Arnold and his supervisor should consider whether there are any results,
conclusions or other information which could be patentable or valuable
to readers for use or further development. Disclosure and publication
would prevent any patent being granted.

Once Arnold has written the article, provided it is Arnold’s own work,
Arnold will be the author of the copyright in the written article. Arnold
should also consider his moral rights in connection with the article
(see Section 1). However, Arnold will not necessarily own the copyright
in the article and should check whether he or his university/institution
is the owner, referring to any relevant IP Policy and the IP
commercialisation organisation. It may be that his university/institution
has to sign the agreement rather than Arnold.

Check if an assignment to Semi-Conductors Monthly could be avoided.

A licence should be sufficient for Semi-Conductors Monthly to use the
article for the purposes of publishing it in a specific edition. An
assignment of all intellectual property rights in or relating to the article
would mean that Semi-Conductors Monthly would become the owner
of the copyright in the article and the university/institution or Arnold
would be unable to reproduce the Article again, even internally, without
asking for consent and possibly having to pay a licence fee.

35
Useful Links/Contacts Section 7

n Your Library Information Service (for literature and patent database

searches)

n Your employer’s intranet for its IP and various related policies as well
as priorities and guidance notes regarding working with other
organisations, agencies and companies

n Higher Education Funding Councils for good practice IP reports and

guidance on relevant issues (www.hefce.ac.uk) (www.sfc.ac.uk)
(www.hefcw.ac.uk)

n Your Research Office and IP commercialisation organisation

n UK Intellectual Property Office website (www.ipo.gov.uk)

n Esp@cenet Patent website (http://gb.espacenet.com)

n European Patent Office website (www.epo.org)

n European IP Helpdesk (www.ipr-helpdesk.org)

n Community Trade Mark Searches

(www.oami.europa.eu/CTMOnline/RequestManager/en-SearchBasic_NoReg)

n US Patent and Trademark Office (www.uspto.gov)

n UK Company Searches (www.companies-house.gov.uk)

36
MCR.004
IP and Confidentiality Checklist

Copyright n Protects items such as writing, music, and software

n Protects the expression of an idea, not the
idea itself
n Protects original work
n Arises automatically without registration
n Duration mainly life of creator +70 years

Patents n Protects inventions

n Needs registering
n Must be new, inventive and capable of
industrial application
n Don’t disclose pre-application
n Duration 20 years

UK Unregistered n Designs must be original and not commonplace

Design Right n Not protected if surface decoration, dictated
TYPES OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

by the way it’s made, made to fit/match

another object
n Arises automatically without registration
n Duration 10 years from first marketing/15 years
from date of design document

UK/Community n Design has individual character

Registered Designs n Not protected if dictated by function
n Don’t disclose more than 12 months
pre-application
n Duration 25 years

Community Unregistered n Criteria same as for registered design

Design Right n Arises automatically without registration
n Duration 3 years

Database Rights n Protects collection of independent works, data

or other materials arranged systematically or
methodically arranged
n Arises automatically without registration
n Duration 15 years

Trade Marks n Denote origin and quality of goods

n Not descriptive/must be distinctive
n Not identical or similar to an existing mark for
similar or identical goods
n Duration 10 years (renewable)
 Ownership n IP is generally owned by its creator
n Employer usually owns IP created by an employee
OWNERSHIP
n Consultants generally own the IP they create
n Student IP depends on the student contract
n Ownership can be varied by contract
n IP created jointly may be owned jointly
n Commissioned designs are owned by commissioner

Copyright/Designs/ n Keep originals of works in a secure place

Database Rights n Record all dates of creation
n Place a copyright notice on each copyright work
n Insert irrelevant but intentional mistakes or
anomalies in your work
n Don’t publish on the internet what you don’t
want copied

Patents n Check if your invention is new

PROTECTION

n Keep lab notebooks (signed and dated) and

other notes secure
n Keep invention confidential until filing at least

Trade Marks n Use the ™ symbol for unregistered trade mark

n Use the ® symbol for registered trade mark
n Set up a watching service

Confidential Information n Use written confidentiality agreements

n File an application before publishing
n Lock information away
n Keep notes of meetings
n Mark information as confidential
n Disclose as little as is possible

Using Others’ IP n Can be a source of information

n Has the period/benefit of protection expired?
USING IP

n Do you have a licence?

n One item can comprise more than one IP right
n Does an exception apply?
n Are you copying a substantial (qualitative) part?
n Have you given appropriate acknowledgement?

Commercialisation IP n IP is used or disposed of for payment

COMMERCIALISATION

n IP can be bought and sold (assigned)

n IP can be licensed (like a lease)
n Assignment transfers IP ownership; with licensing
IP owner remains the same
n Once assigned, original owner loses all rights in IP
n Copyright can be assigned in part
n Licensing allows someone to use IP, often for a
royalty payment
n Licence can be limited in length, scope and use

©The University of Manchester Intellectual Property Limited and Eversheds LLPs 2004-2010.
UMI.MCR.004