last update: 2017 Sept 13. Revised template documents and text.
Concerns about Intellectual Property (“IP”) and Project Sponsor confidential or proprietary information are to be discussed between students and the Project Sponsor, as is the case for co-op work placements. Project Lab Staff and associated UBC Faculty Members may be requested by a Project Sponsor to informally take reasonable precautions around the disclosure of Project Sponsor sensitive or proprietary materials or information.
In the absence of a written agreement with the Project Sponsor, the ownership of all intellectual property created by students in the course of the project work is owned by the students who created the IP. Further clarification of this can be found under the definition of “Student Academic Product” in UBC Policy 88. FAQ from UBC UILO.
Project Sponsors who require that IP generated by the students during the course be assigned to the company, or who require that confidential or proprietary information be shared with the students, must indicate this on the project posting and discuss this with the students before initiation of the project.
The following template documents are provided by the UBC University Industry Liaison Office, and upon request can be completed by the students, faculty and staff members associated with the course, and signed by the UBC UILO as the university’s signing authority:
Undergraduate Student Project – IP Template
Undergraduate Student Project – Confidentialty Agreement
Specific measures can also be made on a case-by-case basis for the project groups, such as limiting the type of material shared during class to other students in the course. Project Sponsors should discuss these matters directly with the student group members, and to forward any questions or concerns to the Project Lab Staff and associated UBC Faculty Members for the course.
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