uconn health

Export Control Agreements

Export control laws are federal regulations that govern how certain information, technologies, and commodities can be transmitted overseas or to a foreign national on U.S. soil. The scope of the regulations is broad: they cover exports in virtually all fields of science, engineering, and technology and apply to research activities regardless of the source of funding. Failure to comply with these laws can have serious consequences, both for the institution and for the individual researcher. Potential penalties include fines and possibly imprisonment. It is thus critical for UConn researchers to understand their obligations under these regulations and to work with Research Compliance Services to ensure that the University is in compliance.

Please visit this section in the Research Integrity & Regulatory Affairs area of the website for more information.

Storrs-UConn Health F&A

Because Storrs and UCH are two separate entities both from the standpoint of the state and for federal grants (and have different financial systems), this places us in a situation similar to the University of Maryland, University of Massachusetts and Cornell University. We used the Cornell model to develop guidelines to promote intercampus collaborations between Storrs and UCH and placed them on our website earlier this year. This has assisted researchers in understanding the procedures at the other campus and resolved issues that in the past have been a concern.

We currently have a global MOA between Storrs and UCH and create individual agreements for each project. They are simple and are put in place quickly.

Additionally the current practice is for the prime recipient to waive F&As on the first $25K of the sub-award if including them would diminish proposed direct costs.

In situations where amount of project cost funding is capped and the subrecipient’s F&As are included in the total direct costs, the subrecipient organization will not include its F&As in the budget. Once awarded, the prime recipient will share its F&As with the subrecipient proportionately to the awarded direct costs. This will be implemented for all future grants.

Technology Transfer FAQs

Protecting your IP

What is a patent?

A patent gives the holder the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering to sell and importing any patented invention. Note, however, that a patent does not provide the holder any affirmative right to practice a technology, since it may fall under a broader patent owned by others; instead, your patent only provides the right to exclude others from practicing it. Patent claims are the legal definition of an inventor’s protectable invention.

Is there a legal definition of an invention?

The United States patent law requires that an invention meet the following three criteria, in order to be eligible for patent protection:

  • Novelty: The invention must be demonstrably different from already available ideas, inventions or products (known as "prior art"). This does not mean that every aspect of an invention must be novel. For example, new uses of known processes, machines, compositions of matter and materials are patentable. Incremental improvements on known processes may also be patentable.
  • Usefulness: For an invention to be patentable, it must have some utility or application, or be an improvement over the existing products and/or technologies.
  • Non-obviousness: The invention cannot be obvious to a person of "ordinary skill" in the field. Non-obviousness usually is demonstrated by showing that practicing the invention yields surprising, unexpected results.

What is a copyright?

A copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the U.S. and other countries to the authors of "original works of authorship." This includes literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic and certain other intellectual works as well as computer software. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works. The Copyright Act usually gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to conduct and authorize various acts, including reproduction, public performance and making derivative works. Copyright protection is automatically secured when a work is fixed into a tangible medium such as a book, software code, video, etc. In the United States, copyright protection lasts the lifetime of the author plus 70 years. In some instances, TCS registers copyrights, but generally not until the commercial product is ready for production and distribution/sale. All new software and source code should be disclosed as with any new invention and will be processed and managed by TCS.

How do I represent a copyright notice?

Although copyrightable works do not require a copyright notice, we do recommend that you use one. For works owned by UConn use the following notice: "© 20XX University of Connecticut. All rights reserved."

What is a trademark or service mark?

A trademark includes any word, name, symbol, device or combination that is used in commerce to identify and distinguish the goods of one manufacturer or seller from those manufactured or sold by others, and also to indicate the source of the goods. In short, a trademark is a brand name. A service mark is any word, name, symbol, device or combination that is used or intended to be used in commerce to identify and distinguish the services of one provider from those of others and to indicate the source of the services. It is not necessary to register a trademark or service mark to prevent others from infringing upon the trademark.

Trademarks generally become protected as soon as they are adopted by an organization and used in commerce (even before registration). With a federal trademark registration, the registrant is presumed to be entitled to use the trademark throughout the U.S. for goods or services for which the trademark is registered. UConn has trademark protection on items such as sports logos, mascots, emblems and images of university events.

Working with Industry

What is a Sponsored Research Agreement?

A university/industry research collaboration is formalized by a Sponsored Research Agreement (SRA). The sponsor and faculty member agree on the specifics of the work and a tentative budget. The final budget and all other aspects of the final contract are negotiated via the Sponsored Program Services (SPS) on the Storrs campus or the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) at the Health Center. The contract addresses a variety of issues including amount of funding, scope of work, IP rights, governing law, etc.

What are Licensing Agreements?

A license grants permission by the owner or controller of intellectual property to another party, under a formal agreement, for use of the intellectual property. License agreements describe the rights and responsibilities related to the use and exploitation of intellectual property developed at UConn. University license agreements usually stipulate that the licensee should diligently seek to bring the intellectual property into commercial use for the public good and provide a reasonable return to UConn. Licenses can be exclusive (only one company/group can make use of the technology during the license period) or non-exclusive (technology can be licensed to others without restriction)

A licensee is chosen based on its ability to commercialize the technology for the benefit of the general public. Sometimes an established company with experience in similar technologies and markets is the best choice. In other cases, the focus and intensity of a startup company is a better option. It is rare for UConn to have multiple potential licensees bidding on an invention.

For more information on Licensing Agreements, contact:

Gregory Gallo, Director of Technology Transfer
860.679.8774
gregory.gallo@uconn.edu

Can I share my new idea or invention with industry or other inventors outside of UConn?

Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) or Confidential Disclosure Agreements (CDAs) are used to protect the confidentiality of an invention during evaluation by potential licensees. CDAs/NDAs also protect proprietary information of third parties that UConn researchers need to review in order to conduct research or to evaluate research opportunities. UConn enters into CDAs/NDAs for university proprietary information shared with someone outside of UConn. CDAs/NDAs can be prepared or reviewed and signed by the SPS or TCS.

Can I share and/or accept materials from industry or other researchers outside of UConn?

Yes, but the university must execute a Material Transfer Agreement (MTAs) in each case. MTAs are used for incoming and outgoing materials at UConn, especially for outgoing materials to industry, and are administered by TCS. These agreements describe the terms under which UConn researchers and outside researchers may share materials, typically for research or evaluation purposes. Intellectual property rights can be endangered if materials are used without a proper MTA. Material transfers going out of UConn must be accompanied by a formal agreement that addresses a variety of issues including definition of the materials, ownership, licensing rights, publication, etc. MTAs will be generated, reviewed and negotiated by the SPS or TCS.

Can I accept a contract from a company to provide non-research services that support their development?

Fee for Services Agreements (FSAs) are used in those cases where UConn may perform service-for-a-fee, which is essentially running previously developed tests on a sponsor’s materials, if such work is consistent with a department’s academic mission, and if UConn is uniquely qualified and positioned to do so. Such work is not research, and fee funds cannot be used to conduct research. The material and data provided, as well as those generated, may be proprietary to the sponsor. A pre-agreed Statement of Work is required, and to avoid problems, the Principle Investigator (PI) should not vary from it or any other relevant agreed upon conditions. FSAs are negotiated by the SPS, or the purchasing department of the Health Center.

Can my industry partner have rights to my IP without taking a license?

Yes through an Option Agreement. Option Agreements are entered into with third parties wishing to evaluate the technology prior to entering into a full license agreement. Option clauses within research agreements describe the conditions under which UConn preserves the opportunity for a third party to negotiate a license for intellectual property. Option clauses are often provided in SRAs to corporate research sponsors.

IP Policy

In addition to publications, presentations, and graduate theses, which communicate research findings to scientific colleagues throughout the world, research may also result in an invention. Inventions and their commercialization have always been a significant component of this country’s economic growth. Technology is critical to our international competitiveness and economic health. As a result, a large number of state and federal laws have been developed to facilitate this process and increase the rate at which valuable inventions move from the laboratory into the marketplace. The policies below govern this process at the University of Connecticut.

Policies Regarding Research Collaborations with Industrial Partners and Technology Transfer

OVPR Staff Resources

Welcome to the OVPR Staff Resources Page!

If you are looking for information that cannot be found here, please reach out to us at ovprhr@uconn.edu for assistance.

The OVPR Operations Team provides administrative, financial and technical staff and programmatic support across all UConn and UConn Health locations. We are the “people-support” people of the OVPR!

Check back frequently for announcements and current information.

OVPR Operations Team

Julie Schwager, Associate Vice President for Research Finance / Executive Director of Operations

@OVPR HR Operations

Computer and Technical Support

 @Research Finance

Official Info and Action Items for OVPR Staff:  OVPR Minute

New Resource(s) / Recently Added

Wednesdays at One – OVPR HR Open Office Hour.  New and current OVPR staff and supervisors are invited to join the OVPR HR Team weekly for an overview of time cards, benefits, and open Q & A (please email ovprhr@uconn.edu if you have difficulties connecting).

W@1 Schedule

Useful Information and Links for OVPR Staff

FAQ “Quick Links” for OVPR Staff

OVPR Unit Administrative Contacts

OVPR Administrative Calendar

OVPR Forms / Documents

Payroll Processing Information

Core-CT Time Cards (Storrs & Regional Campuses)

UConn Health Payroll Information

Other

Overview of The Office of the Vice President for Research (6 minutes)

Recruitment Poster:  Careers In Research Administration

Important for Members of AAUP – Guidance in Matters Pertaining to Merit, Workload, ByLaws, and Promotion and Tenure for OVPR Non-Tenure-Track and In-Residence Faculty Positions

Contact Research IT Services

eRA Help Desk
860.486.7944
eRA-support@uconn.edu
Self-Service Help Desk Portal: https://it.research.uconn.edu/SelfService/

Staff

Name Title/Role Phone Email
Matthew J. Cook, MPH, MBI Director 860.679.3075 matthew.cook@uconn.edu
Support eRA Help Desk 860.486.7944 era-support@uconn.edu
Paula Engler Reporting Services & Help Desk Support 860.486.1750 paula.engler@uconn.edu
Jennifer Lamontagne Reporting Services & Effort Reporting 860.486.4858 jennifer.lamontagne@uconn.edu
Andy Rittner Information System Administration & Desktop Support 860.486.1864 andrew.rittner@uconn.edu
Charles Tuttle Oracle PL/SQL Developer, Senior Programmer/Analyst & Help Desk Support 860.486.1861 charles.tuttle@uconn.edu

 

InfoEd Portal

The InfoEd eRA portal represents the entire InfoEd enterprise suite that houses all of the various modules. Effective 1/1/24, the v13 portal will no longer be supported by InfoEd Global and Research IT. All users should switch to the Enable Portal as Default in your Profile > Settings > Portal Preferences.

How To Materials

Listed below are various self-service handouts and instructional sheets with simple instructions on how to perform various functions within the InfoEd eRA portal tool such as login, change your password, or edit preferences within your user profile.

For technical issues with InfoEd, please email era-support@UConn.edu or call 860.486.7944.

InfoEd Portal

The InfoEd eRA portal represents the entire InfoEd enterprise suite that houses all of the various modules.

How To Materials

Listed below are various self-service handouts and instructional sheets with simple instructions on how to perform various functions within the InfoEd eRA portal tool such as login, change your password, or edit preferences within your user profile.

For technical issues with InfoEd, please email era-support@uconn.edu or call 860.486.7944.

Tech Transfer & Venture Development

The mission of Technology Commercialization Services is to expedite and facilitate the transformation of UConn discoveries into products and services that benefit patients, industry and society.

Our goals are to bring together UConn researchers and the business community in order to significantly enhance the commercial and societal impact of UConn’s research; identify and help move inventions by UConn faculty, staff and students towards the market through licensing or new company formation; secure patent protection for new technologies, where warranted by market forces; generate support for ongoing applied/translational research projects including industry partnerships.

Contact us to evaluate and protect a UConn invention; find proof of concept and/or startup funding at UConn, from the investment community, as well as state and private sources; receive coaching and mentoring for your new venture; start a company; license a technology; incubate your business at UConn; access University-wide programs supporting innovation and entrepreneurship.

We are here to help! You can contact any of our team members by visiting the Contacts page.

USEFUL LINKS:

Cross Campus Subawards

  • Issuance, Review and Execution of the Project Agreement: Because UConn Storrs and UCH are separate fiscal entities, a project agreement needs to be executed before funds can be transferred between the two campuses. After the lead organization has received its award, a project agreement is prepared by the lead’s sponsored program services (UConn Storrs) or the procurement office (UCH Farmington). This agreement is emailed to the subawardee’s sponsored program’s office for review and execution.
    Note:     The project agreement must be signed by authorized signatories of both parties. Pls are not authorized to sign.
  • Award/Fund Setup: Separate project accounts are set up at the lead and sub’s campuses. Prior to account set-up, all compliance-related approvals should have been obtained, e.g., Institutional Review Board IRB)/Stem Cell Research Oversight (SCRO)/Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)/Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC).
  • Invoicing: Before invoices can be paid, they must be approved by the lead campus’s principal investigator.
  • Amendments: Competitive project periods often span multiple budget years. If the sponsoring agency awards funds on a budget year basis, issuance and execution of amendments will be necessary to next year’s funding after it has been released to the lead organization by the sponsor.
  • Carryover of Funding and No-Cost Extensions: Carryover of funds and no-cost extensions (NCE) are not authorized without the lead awardee’s written approval. If needed, at least sixty (60) days prior to the end date of the current budget period the PI(s) should seek approval for any carryover or NCE requests.
  • Award Closeout: So that awards may be closed out in accordance with sponsor requirements, final invoices will normally be required no later than 45 days following the termination date of the award project period.

For assistance with cross campus subawards,

Storrs Graduate Students on UConn Health Projects

There is a mechanism in place that allows Storrs graduate students, both US and international, to be paid directly by UCH as graduate assistants; there is furthermore a mechanism to allow them to have their tuition waived at Storrs. It is not necessary to use the subaward/project agreement mechanism for use of graduate students on grants.

All graduate students (including those at UCH) are enrolled through the Graduate School at Storrs. The only significant issues in the past had been obtaining tuition waivers for graduate assistants at UCH because of the different financial systems at our campuses. UCH’s Human Resources department provides the HR Database of Graduate Assistants to the Bursar’s Office at Storrs a list of all graduate assistants at UCH and they get an automatic tuition waiver similar to graduate assistants at Storrs.

International Students at Storrs are vetted through their International Office while UCH International Students are vetted by Ms. Jaishree Duggal in UCH HR. Both offices work in concert to ensure compliance with applicable immigration laws. International Students are registered through the SEVIS system operated by the Department of Homeland Security, INS, which recognizes the two campuses as separate entities.

Cross Campus Proposal Development

State-of-the-art research is carried out in the twelve schools and colleges and the more than 80 research centers and institutes at the University of Connecticut. The annual expenditures at the University exceed $250 million.

Enhancing interdisciplinary research is a strategic goal for the University. An important component of this is the strengthening of the inter-campus collaborations between Storrs and the Health Center. We can assist faculty in preparing and submitting externally funded inter-campus proposals and awards.

Because UConn (Storrs) and UConn Health (UCH) are two separate fiscal entities, proposals seeking extramural funds are administered similar to sponsored activity involving any other inter-institutional collaborations – where one institution serves as the lead applicant and the other consortium partner acts as the subawardee.

At the proposal stage, the external funding agency will typically require a statement of commitment from each collaborating organization to ensure that there is appropriate programmatic and administrative support and oversight.

In order for Sponsored Program Services (SPS) at Storrs and UCH to approve a Letter of Intent/Consortium Statement, both the lead organization and subawardee proposals need to be routed, reviewed and approved by the respective academic and administrative offices.

  • Lead Organization: One campus is the lead organization; the other campus participating in the project is the subawardee. The decision regarding which campus serves as the lead applicant typically is dictated by the scope of the project – the lead organization performs a substantive role in conducting the project and maintains appropriate oversight of all scientific, programmatic, financial, and administrative matters related to the grant.
  • Budgets: The subawardee’s proposed costs (direct and F&A) get rolled-up into the lead organization’s budget. Each site (Storrs or UCH) applies and receives its respective F&A costs. The lead organization waives F&As associated with the first $25K of inter-campus subaward.  Subawardee personnel cannot be included as personnel in the lead organization’s budget.
  • Internal Review/Approval by the Subawardee Organization: At least 10 business days before the funding agency’s deadline, the subawardee principal investigator needs to submit internal forms (Storrs or UCH routing and significant financial interest, scope of work, budget and budget justification plus any additional documents requested to the subawardee’s sponsored programs office [Storrs SPS or UCH ORSP]). After review and approval by that office, the subawardee investigator will submit the approved consortium statement, scope of work, budget and budget justification plus any additional requested documents to the lead organization’s principal investigator.
  • Internal Review/Approval at the Lead Organization: The principal investigator for the lead organization should route the complete application to his/her respective sponsored programs office, using the normal review, compliance, and approval processes and by that office’s stated deadline.

Staff Contacts

Roles and Responsibilities

Subawardee Pre-Award

  • Prepares budget that includes all subawardee costs (direct and F&A), budget justification, scope of work, internal forms, and consortium statement.
  • Routes sub’s proposal for internal review/approval (dept., dean) and submits to SPS/ORSP for review and approval.
  • Submits sub’s proposal (consortium statement, scope of work, budget/ budget justification, etc.) to lead ’s PI for inclusion in lead’s proposal to be submitted to sponsor.

Lead Applicant Pre-Award

  • Prepares the entire application budget — all lead organization costs, including the sub’s budget and lists subawardee as consortium partner.
  • Routes proposal (including sub’s budget and consortium statement) through SPS/ORSP for review and approval.
  • Submits proposal to sponsor.
  • Notifies subawardee of sponsoring agency’s funding decision.

 

Policies & Compliance

Experience indicates that there is no uniform approach that will meet the needs of our diverse industry partners.  The University is committed to working with its partners to provide leases for incubation space, contact terms and IP rights necessary to meet company goals. Faculty working with industry partners should contact the Technology Commercialization Services (TCS) about specific requests; our policies provide an ability to offer industry research partners options that serve their unique needs. 

Licensing Policies

Royalty Sharing Policy

The University of Connecticut policy provides that our faculty inventors share in revenue generated by their discoveries as follows:

  • 33 1/3% to the Inventor(s) as personal income (Multiple Inventors share the income).
  • 33 1/3%to be further subdivided as follows: (a) 50% to the Inventor(s)’ research program to be administered through an account set up by the Office of the Vice President (OVPR). (This allocation is only available to Inventor(s) having an active research program at the university); 30% to the Inventor(s)’ primary academic unit (department) or other administrative unit to be administered by the Director or Department Head; and (c) 20% to the Inventor(s)’ school or college to be administered by the Dean.
  • 33 1/3% to the University of Connecticut.

If a faculty member is no longer at UConn, the portion of the revenue that would have gone to the inventor’s research program (50% of the 33 1/3%) will be shared equally between the appropriate dean and the university.

License Back Policy

If the University does not believe that it can successfully commercialize a University Invention, and if the faculty member is not interested in founding a Startup, the University will offer the inventor a license of the University Invention (such license referred to as a “license back”). In addition, the inventor may request a license back from OVPR at any time. OVPR is not required to grant a license back but will respond to any request within three months.  If the University elects to license back the University Invention to the inventor, the inventor, as licensee, will assume obligations related to patent expenses and commercialization and will agree to pay a portion of the gross revenue that the inventor receives through his or her commercialization efforts. In addition, the inventor will not be entitled to the net revenue payments described in Section 3 of this policy.

As stated in the UConn IP and Commercialization Policy

Other Policies

Guidelines for Faculty, Staff, and Students who are affiliated with a company:  Guidelines for FACs and SBIR-STTR 101818

Student Employment:  https://policy.uconn.edu/2011/06/02/use-of-students-in-outside-employment/

Faculty Consulting:  https://consulting.uconn.edu/

Financial Conflict of Interest:  https://ovpr.uconn.edu/fcoi-home/

CT Code of Ethics:  https://policy.uconn.edu/2011/05/24/guide-to-the-state-code-of-ethics/

UConn Code of Conduct:  https://policy.uconn.edu/2011/05/17/employee-code-of-conduct/

Intellectual Property and Commercialization:  https://policy.uconn.edu/2015/10/08/intellectual-property-and-commercialization-policy/

 

OVPR Training Resources

The Office of the Vice President for Research is responsible for assessing and addressing the education and information needs of UConn staff and faculty involved in sponsored research and compliance activities across UConn’s schools and colleges on all University campuses.

This section of the website provides educational information and support including tutorials, manuals, job aides, videos, and other reference guides to help and support faculty, staff, and students.

Subscribe to the UCRESADM-L Listserv for more information on educational opportunities and other OVPR notices.

Learn something new everyday!