What is Background Intellectual Property?
Background Intellectual Property (Background IP) includes any patents, software, biological materials, methods, or other proprietary tools that already existed before the project begins or were developed separately from the project and are needed to carry out the work. In nearly all cases, Background IP comes from the Project PI or the PI’s research group.
Identifying ÌìÃÀÓ°ÔºBackground IP early allows the ÌìÃÀÓ°Ôºto ensure the appropriate protections, permissions, and compliance are in place. When preparing to route a proposal or an agreement to OSP and ÌìÃÀÓ°ÔºBackground IP will be part of a project, the ÌìÃÀÓ°ÔºBackground IP checkbox must be selected on question D-1 of the eGC1.