Faculty/Staff/Student Investigators

Intellectual Property FAQs

Patent FAQs

• What is a patent?
• Why is the university interested in patents?
• Who is an inventor?
• What is an invention?
• What are the criteria for a patent?
• Can you publish while applying for a patent?
• What about sponsors?
• Why is record keeping important?

Copyright FAQs

• What is a copyright?
• What may be copyrighted?
• Who owns copyright in works of university authors?
• What are the criteria for a copyright?
• What constitutes fair use of copyrighted works?

Trademark FAQs

• What is a trademark?
• How is the strength of trademark protection determined?
• How can trademark protection be granted under state law?
• What is the broadest trademark protection available?
• How is trademark infringement handled?

Start-up FAQs

• What percentage of inventions become start-ups?
• What are some examples of University of Colorado start-up companies?
• Why does CU encourage start-ups?
• Why does CU seek equity as consideration for licensing CU IP?
• Is equity the University’s only financial remuneration?
• Why does the University structure license agreements with multiple income streams?
• What happens upon equity liquidation?
• What happens to future improvements to technology licensed to a start-up?
• How do I find out more about start-up companies at CU?

Intellectual Property Guidebook (download as pdf). Please note that you need an Adobe Acrobat Reader plug in to view the disclosure form. To download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat, click here.