Stevens & Lee regularly assists colleges and universities in the development, acquisition and management of intellectual property assets. Specifically, we have assisted educational institutions and academicians in the protection of intellectual property (using patents, copyrights and other legal tools) created by or with the assistance of the institution, have developed strategies for the commercial exploitation of such intellectual property through licensing and have helped monitor royalty arrangements to ensure compliance.
We have developed and proposed creative ways to exploit valuable intellectual property rights, including trademarks, and to maximize sources of revenue. We have developed policies regarding shared ownership of intellectual property created within the confines of academic institutions and have evaluated programs for sharing academic content in consortia settings and as massive open online courses (MOOCs). We handle these highly specialized arrangements with an eye toward lowering risk and maximizing both parties’ abilities to achieve their goals.
We have advised our clients in the evaluation, structuring and negotiation of technology and outsourcing agreements. We have also drafted, reviewed and negotiated a wide range of licensing agreements and patent licenses.
Computer and electronic technology is a special subset of intellectual property law, particularly for our higher education clients who acquire and maintain massive amounts of software and hardware. We assist clients in drafting and negotiating their major data processing agreements, computer service agreements, cooperative training and other agreements and assist them in computer procurement issues. We have extensive experience in providing the buyer of computer equipment, software and services – including Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions – with practical and enforceable rights.
We have developed policies and procedures that are used by clients to manage technology infrastructures. These range from policies regarding email use and remote use of institutional resources to those addressing copyright, privacy and compliance. We are also experienced in litigation matters involving all aspects of technology and intellectual property.
