Of Rights and Permissions in Academia

When "town" and "gown" meet, the partnering can be awkward with occasional missteps. In a recent article in the Chronicle, Tom Bartlett outlines a sticky disagreement between scientists at Massachusetts Institutes of Technology (MIT) and Sandia National Laboratories. MIT students received a $200,000 award for a product that was developed in collaboration with Sandia's scientists. The problem is that there was no public recognition of Sandia's contribution to the project.

When faculty work with community partners, clear, open, and consistent communication is key. Occasionally, especially in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines, issues arise in relation to intellectual property rights. UNF has a number of resources to help faculty take appropriate steps toward positive community partnerships.

Read the Chronicle Article:
http://chronicle.com/article/Who-Deserves-MITs-200000/128810/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
Find out more information about Intellectual Property Rights:
http://www.unf.edu/research/Intellectual_Property_and_Technology_Transfer.aspx