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> Participation Acknowledgement
The Hospital
requires that you have a Participation Acknowledgement filed in
the Office of Corporate Sponsored Research and Licensing.
 Download
the Form and Instructions Here.
Intellectual Property Acknowledgement and Policy
Packet:
Explanation and Instructions
1. What is the Intellectual Property Acknowledgement?
It is a document which you sign as an acknowledgement that you are
subject to the Intellectual Property Policy of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Spaulding
Rehabilitation Hospital and their Affiliated Institutions ( the "IP Policy") and related policies. (For
convenience sake, the BWH and MGH are referred to as the "Hospitals" and collectively with their other affiliated
institutions, are referred to as "the Institutions.") In addition to intellectual property rights, these policies
cover research obligations, consulting relationships and conflicts of interest.
2. Who Must Sign an Intellectual Property Acknowledgement?
All Medical and Professional Staff, faculty, employees and students and
fellows associated with the Institutions, as well as other individuals who perform educational, research, clinical or other
activities at the Institution may be asked to sign the Acknowledgement, and are required to do so when asked. It is
important to note that the IP Policy applies to them regardless of whether they sign the Intellectual Property
Acknowledgement.
3. What is to be done with the enclosed materials?
The Intellectual Property Acknowledgement, of which two copies are
included in the hard copy packet, is accompanied by several relevant Institutional policies, as well as the Harvard Medical
School conflicts of interest policy to which any person possessing either a full- or part-time academic or fellowship
appointment in the Faculty of Medicine is subject. These materials should be handled as follows.
Intellectual Property Acknowledgement [hyperlink]. One copy of the
Intellectual Property Acknowledgement must be signed and returned to the office of Corporate Sponsored Research and
Licensing at BWH or MGH (whichever is your home institution). You may retain the second copy for your files. Policies.
Retain these for future reference.
4. Why is it important to disclose inventions and certain
copyrightable works as noted in Paragraph 2 of the Intellectual Property Acknowledgement, and how is that done?
The disclosure of inventions and copyrightable works is required by the
Intellectual Property Policy and is important for several reasons. The most time-sensitive is that if an invention is
potentially patentable, patent rights in most foreign countries can be lost if inventions are disclosed at public meetings
or in written publications before a patent application has been filed. In addition, the Institutions have certain legal
obligations to the United States government with respect to reporting and patenting of inventions if any federal funding is
involved, which is the case with most inventions made at the Institutions even those that also involve foundation or
industrial support.
Similar disclosure obligations often apply to certain copyrightable
works. Another important reason for disclosure is that in order to commercialize any invention or copyrightable work, or to
agree that the inventor or author has the right to pursue commercialization on his or her own, the Institution must first
know about it. Disclosure by the inventor or author is the necessary first step in meeting all of these obligations.
Disclosure forms and instructions are available on the web and from the
BWH and MGH offices of Corporate Sponsored Research and Licensing.
CSRL, BWH: 617-525-6031
CSRL, MGH: 617-726-8608
5. How do I "file" copies of my existing consulting
agreements with the Director of Corporate Sponsored Research and Licensing, as required in Paragraph 4 of the Intellectual
Property Acknowledgement?
All such agreements should be sent to the Director of Corporate
Sponsored Research and Licensing, BWH or MGH, as the case may. If you are affiliated with the Institute of Health
Professions, the agreement should be sent to the Academic Dean of the Institute. It is not necessary to file the original
consulting agreement, but the copy filed must include all provisions of the original, including any appendices or
attachments.
6. If I have questions about these policies, who can answer them? How
can additional copies of the material in this packet be obtained?
Any questions regarding the Intellectual Property Policy should be
directed to the appropriate office of Corporate Sponsored Research and Licensing (see above). Referring to the
"Frequently Asked Questions about the Intellectual Property Policy" may help answer general questions about that
policy. CSRL can usually answer questions about the other policies, but if a question is more appropriately handled by
other institutional offices, CSRL will direct you to the right office.
You may freely copy any of these materials. In addition, they are
available in hard copy from CSRL, or on the web:
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