The sharing of research materials is widespread throughout the scientific community and is vital for the progress of research. Although it is commonly agreed that the process for sharing research materials should be as simple as possible, there are important legal requirements that must be considered and a failure to do so can have severe consequences to both the individual and the UCSC campus.

It is essential that all faculty and staff understand:

• No item may be shipped or otherwise transported outside the United States without first determining if an export license is required;
  
• All domestic and international shipments of biological, hazardous, or radioactive items must conform with applicable regulations governing the licensing, packaging, and shipment of the material;
  
• Prior to shipment , an assessment must be made of UCSC’s duties and obligations regarding the intellectual property contained in a shipment of all research materials and of certain types of writings (e.g. software and databases);
  

We are continuing to develop management practices for outgoing materials and will keep you apprised as they are finalized. This is being done to ensure that the proper handling, export regulations, and intellectual property issues are considered prior to transfer, and that university and faculty liability is minimized. We will make every attempt to work through these issues so as not to impede the campus research agenda.

If you are planning to transfer research items out of the country, you must confer with appropriate University personnel now to determine whether special licenses or other steps are needed. Contact information is provided below.

The University will assist you in the process of transferring materials, but you must allow sufficient time for this process to occur. Timing of licenses and other processes are not necessarily within our control. There may be some situations in which, in spite of our best attempts to do so, the campus cannot procure a license to ship an item out of the country. While we hope this happens on only the rarest of occasions, there may be some circumstances in which we may have to decline research collaboration because of export restrictions.

Contact: For assistance in determining if your item needs special packaging, shipping or export treatment please contact Brittany Whiting at 831-459-5772 or EHS at 831-459-4454

Intellectual Property and Contractual Concerns

If you are sending writings or items developed outside of the University to another institution or company (including materials developed by current UC faculty while employed elsewhere) you or UCSC may be required to obtain written authorization from the originating organization for the transfer. Transfer without authorization may breach contractual obligations undertaken by UCSC, may infringe the rights of others, and may create liability for recipients relying on the integrity of our actions.

If the research result being transferred originated at the University of California both intellectual property rights and contractual obligations may be involved. For example, if a software application, database, or item was developed under private sponsored research funding, there may be restrictions on the transfer (such as a sponsor’s first right to negotiate a license or a requirement to disclose the transfer to the sponsor). If the technology embodies a patentable invention, an undocumented transfer of the materials may cause the loss of patent rights and also violate the terms of sponsored research agreements (including federal funding arrangements), non-disclosure agreements, material transfer or existing license agreements pertaining to the materials.

For questions about the Intellectual Property implications of transferring research materials, please contact Gerald Barnett, Director of the UCSC Office for Management of Intellectual Property at 459-3090 or gbarnett@ucsc.edu