Researchers at universities, similar to employees of medical device companies, are accustomed to assigning patent rights to their institution in an employment agreement signed during the hiring process. What may not be as obvious is that many non-academic hospitals are now including intellectual property (IP) rights in their physician employment agreements.
Hospitals, especially large hospital systems composed of a multitude of individual hospitals, are realizing the large revenue source that medical device licensing can provide. For example, here is a subsection of Edwards County Hospitals Intellectual property employment policy:
’Any work of authorship or invention created by an employee during the scope of his or her employment with Edwards County Hospital shall be considered the property of Edwards County Hospital, including any patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, or other intellectual property right in such work of authorship or invention.’
To read the full, original article click on this link: Giving up intellectual property to hospitals: The pros and cons
