University policies commonly state that the university owns all patents and software developed using university facilities or developed under a sponsored research agreement. Industrial sponsors are commonly granted first options to license patens arising from research, and the federal government is granted a nonexclusive license to patents from federally funded research. There may be a potential or perceived conflict of interest where an inventor holds an equity position in a company, which the university has licensed to market and distribute the invention. Most universities believe that bringing such financial holdings into the sunlight, through public disclosure, is preferable to a hard and fast rule prohibiting the taking of equity together. Universities also understand the potential unethical conduct may arise from an investigator's financial interest in a company.
Universities have separate rules in place to prevent, discovery or sanction fraudulent activities.
Scientific misconduct, however, is not to be equated of confused with conflicts of interest. Return to Index 13. Increasingly, the federal government encourages the development of collaborative relationships between itself, industry, and academia. New partnerships are fostered through the Defense Reinvestment Act, programs at the National Institutes of Standards and Technology, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy. Collaborative relationships are expected to promote economic development, job creation, technology transfer and innovation.