Procedures | Advisory Committee on Patents and Copyrights

I. Name

A. Advisory Committee on Patents and Copyrights 2012

II. Purpose and Scope

A. In concert with the University Policy on Patents and Copyrights and Guidelines for Implementation, the function of the Advisory Committee on Patents and Copyrights is to advise and assist the President in all matters involving patents, trademarks, and copyrights. Among its basic responsibilities in carrying out its purpose, the committee:

  1. Has the responsibility for implementing the University Policy on Patents and Copyrights and its Guidelines for Implementation.
  2. Recommends changes to the University Policy on Patents and Copyrights and its Guidelines for Implementation.
  3. Receives disclosures of inventions and copyrightable materials from faculty, staff, and students.
  4. Recommends whether or not the University should pursue an invention for Letters of Patent or to waive and assign rights to the inventor(s).
  5. Recommends whether or not the University should register copyrightable materials or waive and assign rights to the author.
  6. Recommends the percentage of income sharing with an inventor or an author.
  7. Recommends whether or not inventions and copyrightable material(s) should be marketed.

III. Members

A. The membership is appointed by the President of the University.

  1. Faculty - A minimum of one member from each college or school.
  2. Student- At least one undergraduate and one graduate student.
  3. Terms of Office - Members shall serve terms of three 3) years beginning at the time of appointment. Students shall serve a term of one (1) year beginning at the time of appointment. Appointments are to be effective a the beginning of the Fall Semester, and all members’ terms are subject to renewal at the discretion of the President
  4. Vacancies - If a member is unable to continue service on the Committee, another member representing the same basic constituency shall be appointed by the President of the University to serve for the remainder of the unexpired term.
  5. Attendance at Meetings - If a member is unavoidably absent from a meeting, he/she may designate a representative to attend, provided the representative is someone from the same basic unit of the University as the regular member and that the Chairperson of the Committee is notified ahead of time as to who this representative would be and under what circumstances he/she would be attending the meeting. This representative shall exercise the rights and privileges of the member for whom he/she is attending; that is, the right to vote, the right to make motions, and the right to second motions.

IV. Officers

A. Chairperson - The Chairperson shall be elected annually from the Committee membership. He/she shall:

  1. Preside at all meetings or designate another member to preside.
  2. Schedule regular meetings of the Committee.
  3. Prepare a tentative agenda for each meeting for distribution to members of the Committee at least three working days prior to regular meetings and one day prior to special meetings.
  4. Approve the draft minutes of the meetings for distribution to the members of the Committee for review and approval.
  5. Appoint special subcommittees as required.
  6. Call special meetings when necessary.
  7. Supervise the preparation and distribution of an Annual Report of the Committee's activities.

B. Executive Officer - The President will appoint a staff member to serve as executive officer and resource person and to provide staff support services.

V. Conduct of Meetings

A. Regular meetings shall be scheduled at least once per semester during the regular academic year.

B. The Chairperson may call a special meeting when he/she deems such action necessary.

C. Items for inclusion in the tentative agenda of a regular meeting must be submitted to the Chairperson at least five working days prior to the meeting. Items for inclusion in the tentative agenda of a special meeting must be submitted to the Chairperson at least two working days prior to the meeting. Any member of the University community may submit tentative agenda items to the Chairperson.

D. A simple majority of the voting members shall constitute a quorum. If a quorum is not present, the meeting may proceed, but all discussion items requiring a vote, such as approval of minutes for the previous meeting, shall be sent to the full committee for balloting by mail.

E. The agenda shall be adopted at the beginning of each meeting by a majority vote of those present.

F. In any matter requiring a vote, the vote of each member present (except advisory members) shall be recorded equally.

VI. Subcommittees

A. No standing subcommittees are authorized.

B. Special subcommittees shall be appointed by the Chairperson as he/she shall deem necessary to carry on specific items of work of the Committee.

VII. Parliamentary Authority

A. The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern committee meetings in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these procedures. Suspension of these rules may be effected by a majority of the voting members present.

VIII. Amendment of Procedures

A. These procedures can be amended at any regular meeting of the Committee by a two-thirds vote of the voting members present, provided that the amendment has been submitted in writing to each member at least three (3) working days prior to the meeting. Amendments to Procedures are subject to final approval by the Administrative Council.

IX. Committee Action and Review

A. Actions of this Committee are subject to review and approval by the President or his designee.

X. Effective Date of Implementation

A. These procedures shall become effective when approved by the Administrative Council.

Date of this Revision: 2/15/91

Date Approved by the Administrative Council:

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