Title: |
Patents – Publication Clearance Policy |
Publication date: |
12/3/2012 |
Effective date: |
2/1/2008 |
BRIEF
Policy Summary
All publications – whether written, oral, visual, or electronic – describing technical or scientific work by Berkeley Lab employees and affiliates or done with Berkeley Lab facilities must be be reviewed and cleared by Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property Management (TTIPM) prior to publication. Exceptions include restricted disclosure to certain government and University of California personnel or entities covered by a confidentiality agreement signed by TTIPM.
Publications include written reports submitted to professional or scientific journals, oral and written conference presentations, abstracts, Ph.D. theses, and any other material presented that may contain patentable invention information.
Who Should Read This Policy
This policy applies to all employees and affiliates, especially researchers and other technical staff, including those who work part time or have a faculty appointment.
To Read the Full Policy, Go To:
The POLICY tab on this wiki page
Contact Information
Report Coordination
[email protected]
Title: |
Patents – Publication Clearance Policy |
Publication date: |
12/3/2012 |
Effective date: |
2/1/2008 |
POLICY
A. Purpose
The purpose of patent review before publication is to ensure that all inventions created under Berkeley Lab's contract with DOE have been reported and, if appropriate, protected for future commercialization. This pre-publication review is not intended to be the primary means to identify Berkeley Lab inventions. Possible inventions should be reported to TTIPM on a Record of Invention (ROI) form before the material is ready for publication so that valuable patent rights will not be lost.
B. Persons Affected
This policy applies to all employees and affiliates, especially researchers and other technical staff, including those who work part time or have a faculty appointment.
C. Exceptions
Restricted disclosure to certain government and University of California personnel or entities covered by a nondisclosure agreement signed by TTIPM.
D. Policy Statement
- Prior to publication or an oral presentation, authors must submit all documents describing scientific or technical work by Berkeley Lab to TTIPM for a patent review and clearance. Authors must submit those documents to TTIPM through Report Coordination. The following do not require patent review and clearance: restricted disclosures to federal government employees subject to the Trade Secrets Act and University of California personnel, or publication or presentations covered by a nondisclosure agreement signed by TTIPM.
- The types of documents that must be reviewed for patent clearance (to determine whether any unreported patentable inventions are described) include not only Berkeley Lab written reports, but also the following, whether made public in written, oral, visual, or electronic form:
- Articles to be submitted to scientific or professional journals
- Oral and written conference presentations (e.g., slides or viewgraphs) or posters
- Abstracts
- Ph.D. theses
- Any other material that could contain invention information
- While the pre-publication patent review is intended to ensure that all Berkeley Lab inventions have been reported to DOE and, if appropriate, protected for future commercialization, the ROI form is the primary means for identifying a Berkeley Lab invention. Inventors must complete an ROI form before the material is ready for publication so that TTIPM will have time to ensure that valuable patent rights will not be lost.
E. Roles and Responsibilities
Role |
Responsibility |
Inventor/Author |
|
Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property Management Patent Attorney |
Reviews the manuscript or other document . |
Report Coordination |
|
F. Definitions/Acronyms
Term |
Definition |
Invention |
A new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement that is patentable under the laws of the U.S. or a foreign country. Certain software may be a patentable invention. |
Inventor |
A person who conceived or contributed to the conception of an invention |
Nondisclosure Agreement |
A legal contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wish to restrict access to or by third parties. The recipient is typically prohibited from disclosing the confidential information except to those within the recipient organization with a "need to know," subject to certain common exceptions or time limits. A nondisclosure agreement is also called a "confidentiality agreement" or a "proprietary information agreement." |
Record of Invention |
The form the inventor(s) completes and submits to Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property Management to report an invention |
Patent Attorney |
An individual who is a member in good standing of the bar of any U.S. court or the highest court of any state and who is registered to practice before the U.S. Patents and Trademark Office |
Policy |
Statements or directives from the federal, state, or local government; the University of California; or Berkeley Lab senior management that set a course of action, define acceptable conduct, or implement governing principles. Example: Berkeley Lab Site Access. |
Publications |
Publications include written reports, articles submitted to professional or scientific journals, oral and written conference presentations, abstracts, Ph.D. theses, and any other material presented that could contain patentable invention information. |
TTIPM |
Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property Management |
G. Recordkeeping Requirements
All publication requests are tracked online in the [Reports Database/ Report Coordination Management System
maintained by the IT Division and Report Coordination.
H. Implementing Documents
Document number |
Title |
Type |
Process |
I. Contact Information
Report Coordination
[email protected]
J. Revision History
Date |
Revision |
By whom |
Revision Description |
Section(s) affected |
Change Type |
1/2/2012 |
0 |
H. Clark |
Re-write for wiki (brief) |
All |
Minor |
12/3/2012 |
1 |
R. Chiang |
Re-write for wiki (policy) |
All |
Minor |
12/17/2020 | D. Soustin | Updated Contract 31 I clause numbers as per mod 1105 | Source Requirement Documents | Editorial |
DOCUMENT INFORMATION
Title: |
Patents – Publication Clearance Policy |
Document number |
10.04.002.000 |
Revision number |
1 |
Publication date: |
12/3/2012 |
Effective date: |
2/1/2008 |
Next review date: |
12/3/2015 |
Policy Area: |
Intellectual Property |
RPM Section (home) |
Info Management |
RPM Section (cross-reference) |
Asset Management |
Functional Division |
|
Prior reference information (optional) |
RPM Sections 5.02(F) and 5.03(B)(2) |
Source Requirements Documents
Contract 31, Clause I.143, DEAR 970.5227-10, Patent Rights - Management and Operating Contracts, Nonprofit Organization or Small Business Firm Contractor (AUG 2002) [SC alternate APR 2018] (prev. I.097)
Implementing Documents
Document number |
Title |
Type |
Process |