Washington University in St. Louis
An email from a representative of Washington University in St. Louis stated that the school has had three iterations of its policy on patent royalty distribution. The first was in effect prior to July 1998. The second was enacted on July 1, 1998. The third and the current iteration was formally adopted on July 1, 2005.
Contents
Summary
| Institution | Start | End | Flat | $0-10k | $10-50k | $50-100k | $100-300k | $300-500k | $0.5-1M | >$1M | Fee | Lab | More |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington University in St. Louis | 1991 | 1998 | Yes | 0.50 | 0.50 | 0.50 | 0.50 | 0.50 | 0.50 | 0.50 | 0 | No | No |
| Washington University in St. Louis | 1999 | 2005 | Yes | 0.45 | 0.45 | 0.45 | 0.45 | 0.45 | 0.45 | 0.45 | 0 | No | No |
| Washington University in St. Louis | 2006 | 2017 | Yes | 0.35 | 0.35 | 0.35 | 0.35 | 0.35 | 0.35 | 0.35 | 0 | No | No |
Policy Excerpts
2014 Policy Excerpt
2014 Intellectual Property Policy
The 2014 policy provides for the same division of royalties as the 2005 policy.
Washington University policy encourages the commercialization of the technology developed by its faculty, trainees and staff and provides for the sharing of any income derived with the creators of the ideas that produced the technology. The mechanism for the division of this income is here described in detail according to a recommendation of the Faculty Committee on Technology Transfer.
The gross income from a particular intellectual property owned by the university is reduced by all technology transfer expenses that can be directly linked to it. The result is the net intellectual property income. Net income shall be calculated annually by OTM unless mutually agreed otherwise. The shares of net income shall be divided as follows:
1. 25% OTM
2. 35% Creator(s)
3. 40% Creators’ School
The creators’ share may be taken as personal income or may be waived in part or in total by the creator.
The share distributed to the creators’ school shall be divided according to a policy determined by the administration of the school. However, this division shall include the creators’ laboratory, the creators’ department and other school budgets. The Bayh-Dole amendment prescribes the sharing of intellectual property income derived from federally funded research with the inventors of patented ideas. Washington University policy extends the plan for the division of income to the creators of nonpatentable ideas.
At times it may be difficult to determine what expenses can be directly charged to the gross income of a particular technology transfer agreement. Legal and patent expenses associated with a licensed invention are easy to allocate. However, delayed expenses, expenses associated with the realization of equity or expenses associated with related, but unlicensed inventions are often more difficult to allocate. In making these difficult determinations the following principles should apply:
Distributions to creators are final and shall not be affected by unanticipated expenses, except for simple adjustments necessary to correct clerical errors.
Prior to the determination of the distribution of net income, the creator shall receive a statement of direct expenses charged against the gross income derived from a technology transfer agreement.
Subject to the above principles, all reasonable expenses associated with a particular agreement should be charged to the gross income derived from that agreement.
The distribution of income shall, as closely as possible, follow the plan for division in force when the intellectual property was licensed. When an agreement with a sponsor includes equity to be held either by the creator, the university or both, such shares of the equity may be placed in escrow for the duration of the sponsor’s support of university research and for a year thereafter, as determined by the DRC. Even though the determination of the creator’s or the university’s income from equity held in commercial ventures involved in technology transfer activities is complicated by the length of time usually required to determine the value of the equity and applicable tax and security laws and regulations, the appropriate plan for income division shall still be followed as closely as possible.
In the case of the division of income in the form of equity, as well as in the case of all intellectual property income, the creator may continue to receive income upon termination of employment with Washington University. Furthermore, income will pass to the creator’s heirs as directed by the creator’s estate.
Email from Office of Technology Management
In a 2015 email, a representative of the Office of Technology Management provided the following information about earlier policies:
This is what we have at WUSTL:
Before 7/1/1998 — PIs = 50%; School = 45%; OTM = 5%
Between 7/1/1998 to 6/30/2005 — PIs = 45%; School = 40%; OTM = 15%
After 7/1/2005 — PIs = 35%; School = 40%; OTM = 25%
