Bayh-Dole Certification

What This Agreement Covers

The Bayh–Dole Act or Patent and Trademark Law Amendments Act is federal legislation enacted in 1980 that specifies how intellectual property (IP) arising from federal government-funded research is handled. In short, the act permits universities that receive federal funding to own IP and inventions that result from the research, rather than assigning inventions to the federal government.

Several regulatory revisions of the Bayh-Dole Act went into effect that clarify certain definitions, reduce compliance burdens, simplify the electronic reporting process, and require written agreements between grant recipients and their employees.

Important Links

Who Needs to Sign

Ohio State researchers – faculty, staff and students – who are listed on federal grants or are listed as study team members on protocols supported by federal grants need to sign an agreement stating that any intellectual property that comes out of federally sponsored research is assigned to Ohio State. 

Nationwide Children’s Hospital (NCH) employees with dual appointments at NCH and Ohio State should sign this agreement if they are listed on Ohio State federal funded grants or are listed as study team members on Ohio State protocols supported by federal grants. This agreement is specific to an employee’s involvement with Ohio State federally funded research and excludes any federally funded research performed by the employee under the auspices of NCH. Ohio State and NCH may have other contractual relationships that govern ownership. 

Those that fall under the requirements need only to sign the form one time. After the form has been signed, it will be noted in the “Profile” database.

Related Policies

The Bayh-Dole Act and its revisions remain consistent with Ohio State’s Intellectual Property Policy.