Daily Bulletin

University of Waterloo -- Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

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Tuesday, June 10, 1997

Copyright and patents, second draft

A new draft version of UW's proposed Policy 73, on "intellectual property", has been issued and is on the agenda for discussion by UW's senate next Monday. The draft is based on comments received after the first draft of Policy 73 was circulated last year.

It's a policy on the ownership of intellectual property (IP), meaning ideas that are generated at this university -- copyright, patents, credit for scholarly articles, and so on. A key excerpt:

Except as stipulated below, it is University policy that ownership of IP rights in works created in the course of teaching and research activities belong to the creator(s). The exceptions are:

The University normally retains ownership of IP rights in works created as "assigned tasks" in the course of administrative activities.
Owners of IP rights in scholarly works created in the course of teaching and research activities grant the University a non-exclusive, free, irrevocable license to copy and/or use such works in other teaching and research activities, but excluding licensing and distribution to persons or organizations outside the University community. Any such licensing and/or distribution activity would be authorized only by an additional license from the owner(s).
In sponsored or contract research activities, ownership of IP rights may be determined in whole or in part by the regulations of the sponsor or the terms of the contract. Participants in these research activities must be made aware of any such stipulations of the contract by the Principal Investigator, that is, the leader of the research group.
All contributors to scholarly works should receive appropriate recognition for their contributions. . . .
In the event of commercial exploitation of a scholarly work, all intellectual contributors to that work should be entitled to share in the proceeds in proportion to their contributions.

Last summer's draft of Policy 73 included a paragraph that said the university was normally entitled to a 5 per cent share in the revenue from commercialization of ideas developed on campus. That paragraph is gone in the new draft, replaced by this passage:

In reporting their work, members of the University should acknowledge the University as the location at which the work was done. In the spirit of collegiality, developers of IP are encouraged to recognize the University's indirect support (such as library resources, computing infrastructure), through a financial contribution.

The policy requires that "Members of the University of who have developed IP and intend to pursue commercialization or other opportunities, must inform the Vice-President, University Research or delegate, in advance and in writing, of the nature of the IP, and the intentions of the researcher(s) for it, so that he/she is aware of the activity and can respond to inquiries from external sources." It also requires faculty members to declare a conflict of interest when assigning teaching materials in which they have a commercial interest.

Workshop for teaching assistants

"Designing a Course" is the title of this Friday's workshop for teaching assistants, sponsored by the teaching resource office:

Careful planning and organization are essential for a successful course, yet many TAs receive little or no training in how to link principles of planning and teaching. In this workshop, you will participate in a variety of activities to help you consider the various components of course design and how you can apply them when planning a course in your discipline. We will also provide templates and tools for you to take away.
Each participant will be asked to fill out a brief pre-workshop questionnaire. Your answers will provide a basis for you to begin planning a course of your choice. Individuals will share their responses so we can all benefit from each others experiences. So please bring your ideas and join us for this interactive workshop.
The workshop is open to all graduate students across campus, whether you are teaching a course for the first time, looking for ways to improve a course, or preparing for a teaching career. So please pass on this notice to your colleagues. Remember to bring your lunch. Juice will be provided.

The facilitators are Gary Griffin and Linda Schmoll of teaching resources, and the event runs from 12 noon to 1:30 on Friday in Engineering I room 3516. Participants should preregister by sending e-mail to trace@watserv1 (or phone ext. 3132).

Marking a pair of retirements

Pat Martin, long-time office secretary for the staff association, is retiring this summer and will be the guest of honour at a noontime reception tomorrow. "Everyone is welcome and encouraged to bring their lunch," says Charlene Schumm, president-elect of the association. "We will be serving cake, snacks, coffee and juice." Location: Davis Centre room 1301.

Herbert Fernando of the biology department retires officially as of July 1. A reception in his honour will be held tomorrow at 4 p.m. at the University Club. RSVPs should go (indeed should have gone by the end of last week) to Barb Rae at ext. 2141. Contributions to the Biology Retirement Scholarship Fund in his honour are invited.

Local volunteers are wanted

On this week's wish-list from the Volunteer Action Centre:

French-speaking visitor: A French-speaking senior citizen in a retirement home is looking for a female to visit her approximately two hours a week. Listing 065-1946.
Pamphlet manager: An agency is looking for a volunteer to be responsible for inventory control, ordering, receiving and shelving pamphlets. If you are computer literate and have knowledge of library indexes and directories, this is an excellent opportunity to utilize your skills. Listing 093-1530.

The talk of the campus

The next "celebrity lecturer" to be brought in by the Computer Science Graduate Student Association will be Robert Hyatt, described as "one of the major figures in computer chess research over the last 30 years", and what could be more timely with Kasparov and Deep Blue in the news? Hyatt will visit UW next week, June 17 and 18, and bring along his current chess program, Crafty, to face human or automated challengers. An informal chess evening is expected to be part of the visit, says Toby Donaldson of the CSGSA. . . .

Blood donors can book ahead for the next Red Cross clinic by stopping by the Student Life Centre Wednesday or Thursday between noon and 3 p.m. to speak with Red Cross staff, or by signing up at the turnkey desk after 3 p.m. both days and all day Friday. The clinic will run from Monday, June 16, to Friday, June 20, from 10 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 5 p.m. at the SLC multi-purpose room. Collecting 25 units of blood per day is the target. Although the Red Cross would prefer donors make an appointment, walk-ins can usually be accommodated. A photo ID with signature is required. For more information, phone 744-6110. . . .

The Matthews Golf Classic on June 25 isn't quite full, Hazel Austin of the organizing committee advises. Staff, faculty, retirees and friends who might like to take part should get in touch right away with Bill Futher at ext. 3111. . . .

Stanley Knowles, who died in Ottawa yesterday at the age of 88, had a special connection to UW: the new chair in Canadian studies, based at St. Paul's United College, has been named in his honour. Knowles was a New Democratic member of thirteen Parliaments and became the only Honorary Member of the House of Commons. . . .

CAR

TODAY IN UW HISTORY June 10, 1976: "A Day in the Death of Joe Egg", produced by Waterloo Summer Theatre, begins a four-day run.

Editor of the Daily Bulletin: Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
credmond@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca -- (519) 888-4567 ext. 3004
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