About Intellectual Property Rights
Minnesota State Colleges and Universities define intellectual property as "any work of authorship, invention, discovery, or other original creation that may be protected by copyright, patent, trademark, or other category of law." (Board Policy 3.26 , Part 3, Subpart I). Historically, colleges and universities have been major sources of the development of intellectual property through creative works in art, music, theater, scholarly writings, research and other innovative processes.
Minnesota State Colleges and Universities is strongly committed to protecting the intellectual property created or commissioned within the academic community. This traditional commitment to faculty and student ownership in scholarly work is recognized by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees through its adoption of specific policies governing the development and ownership of intellectual property.
On June 19, 2002, the Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities adopted Board Policy 3.26, Intellectual Property.
Policy 3.26 Intellectual Property is the result of the combined efforts of representatives of the Minnesota Interfaculty Organization, the Office of the Chancellor, and several MnSCU campuses. Members of the Task Force on Intellectual Property spent several months researching, developing and drafting the policy language. The Board of Trustees was also active in refining the final version of the policy, which became effective on January 1, 2003. The full text of the policy may be accessed at
