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.
Ohio State researchers – faculty, staff and students – that work on federal grants need to sign an agreement stating that any intellectual property that comes out of federally sponsored research is assigned to Ohio State. Those that fall under this requirement need only to sign the form one time.
After the form has been signed, it will be noted in the Study Team Lookup database.
The Bayh-Dole Act and its revisions remain consistent with Ohio State’s Intellectual Property Policy.