Ownership of intellectual property rights (IPR) to research data needs to be documented in the Data Management Plan.
This applies to IPR arising from primary research and/or data derived from third-party sources. Intellectual property issues can then be dealt with more efficiently during the research project.
Read BU’s Intellectual Property Policy (2020) for the policies and procedures applied to all intellectual property created during research activity by BU staff or students.
| Ownership of Intellectual Rights | BU's Intellectual Rights Policy | |
|---|---|---|
| Staff | BU owns the intellectual property rights for research data generated by BU staff during their normal duties or as a result of a task specifically assigned by BU. | Section 4.1 of BU's Intellectual Property Policy |
| Postgraduate Researchers (PGRs) | PGRs retain the intellectual property rights for research data generated as part of their studies, except in certain cases. | Sections 7.1 and 7.2 of BU's Intellectual Property Policy |
| Collaborative projects | Where research is being carried out in collaboration with other academic institutions or with commercial partners, ownership rights may be shared or apply separately to different datasets. It should be clear from the start who owns what, and how the data can be used and shared. Please consult Legal Services during project planning to ensure appropriate agreements are in place. | Section 15 of BU's Intellectual Property Policy |
The IPR for data derived from third-party sources will likely belong to third parties, not to the researcher using the data.
Researchers must adhere to any licencing restrictions related to the use of the data. Licensing terms will in many cases (for example, commercial or NHS data) prevent onward sharing of the data.
Licencing terms should be carefully reviewed (with the support of Legal Services) before committing BU to them. This is to ensure compatibility with BU's position as a university and charity.