VCH’s extensive acute and community health services offer rich environments for staff to research new ideas, products and services that have the potential to benefit society. These new inventions or creations (and more) are known as intellectual property, or IP.

VCH has a new IP policy to ensure that contributors are properly recognized for their work. It clarifies ownership rights associated with the creation of IP and outlines the sharing of benefits resulting from any commercialization of IP.

What do I need to know about the IP policy?

There are a few things VCH staff, researchers and other contributors to the creation of IP should know:

• If IP was created using VCH facilities, resources or funding, IP must be disclosed to the VP Research within 30 days of being created. Ownership rights will then be assessed based on the information received.
• IP details must also be provided to the VP Research prior to publication, to ensure appropriate protection of IP before public disclosure.
• When the IP creator is affiliated with a university, third party or other health authority that already has an existing IP policy, IP ownership will be governed by that institution’s affiliation agreements with VCH and that institution’s policy.

What if I have more questions?

If you have questions about the IP policy or how to protect your IP, visit the VCH Research Institute’s Intellectual Property website for more information and links to the policy, IP disclosure form and university contact details.

The policy, form and contact information can also be found on VCH’s Intellectual Property intranet site.