Timeline for PhD project ownership conflict after changing university
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
14 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 23, 2015 at 12:03 | vote | accept | Herman Toothrot | ||
| Jun 7, 2015 at 14:08 | comment | added | hBy2Py | @PatriciaShanahan Yes, it won't apply, because there's no end product (real or virtual) being sold in-market. | |
| Jun 7, 2015 at 14:07 | comment | added | hBy2Py | @BillBarth That's a much better and more concise way of saying what I was attempting to convey -- that it's not the ideas, it's what's done or doable with them in the commercial realm, that's protected. | |
| Jun 7, 2015 at 13:42 | comment | added | Bill Barth | @Brian, patents and copyrights don't protect ideas. The former protects particular implementations, and the latter protects expressions of ideas as fixed in tangible media. | |
| Jun 7, 2015 at 13:29 | comment | added | Patricia Shanahan | @Brian At least in the USA there is also trade secret, bu that is unlikely to apply here. | |
| Jun 7, 2015 at 10:59 | comment | added | hBy2Py | @CGCampbell IIUC, the only sense in which one can own an idea is in the copyright and patent arenas, where one can prohibit another from profiting from the idea, either by direct sale of the idea (copyrightable works) or by exploitation of the idea in practical manufacturing application (patented entities). There are no constraints on research from either; only publication/production & sale. Again IIUC, performing even industrial-directed research using, e.g., patented concepts cannot be prevented by the patent holder. | |
| Jun 5, 2015 at 21:45 | comment | added | Bill Barth | @user4050, the proposal text itself is probably covered under copyright belonging to SuperA/UniA, but the ideas that it embodies cannot be owned by them. Also, if he's abandoned the project, there's morally nothing I can think of stopping others who were involved in the original project from continuing to work on it up to and including writing a new proposal covering the same ideas. Obviously if the proposed work was funded, that funding would stay with UniA. | |
| Jun 5, 2015 at 18:59 | comment | added | Herman Toothrot | Is a full proposal with a somewhat general methodology still considered only an idea? | |
| Jun 5, 2015 at 18:54 | comment | added | Herman Toothrot | @CGCampbell yes mostly my question was about who owns an idea. I don't know if my question was clear enough on that or if there are similar questions. | |
| Jun 5, 2015 at 16:55 | comment | added | Bill Barth | @CGCampbell, you can't own an idea in most jurisdictions, but that was at the core of the question. | |
| Jun 5, 2015 at 16:50 | comment | added | CGCampbell | Is who "owns" the "idea" of the project at all relevant? UniA Prof came up with the research topic, does that accord UniA prof any ownership of the resultant work, or is it all truly about the funding? | |
| Jun 5, 2015 at 12:03 | comment | added | Bill Barth | Then I don't see that the problem is. If SuperA didn't do anything and all the money, time, and effort was spent by UniB at UniB, I think you're in the clear. Keep working on the project. | |
| Jun 5, 2015 at 6:45 | comment | added | Herman Toothrot | you have made some good points. Just to clarify, UniA did not invest any money in the student nor has any money for the project, UniB did invest money by paying the student stipend. The student only actually started working on the project when he was enrolled at UniB. | |
| Jun 4, 2015 at 23:20 | history | answered | Bill Barth | CC BY-SA 3.0 |