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3. Conflict of Commitment
FAU employees owe their primary professional allegiance to the university. Their primary commitment of time and intellectual energies should be to the education, research, and scholarship programs of
the institution. Conflicts of commitment usually involve issues of time allocation. If a situation raising issues of conflict of commitment arises, an individual should discuss the situation with his or her supervisor. More information about university policies concerning conflicts of commitment can be found on the Department of Human Resources website.
4. Consulting Agreements
Start-ups may hire FAU employees as consultants, however individuals should be clear about the delineation between university work and private consulting. FAU employees cannot enter into any agreement that creates obligations that conflict with FAU’s Intellectual Property Policy. The university does not assert ownership of an innovation made while an employee is consulting for an outside company provided that the innovation was made without significant use of university support or the innovation is not within the scope of the individual’s employment by FAU. Information on requirements for consulting activities can be found on the Department of Human Resources website.
5. Obligations to Sponsors
OTD requires the disclosure of all sponsors, including companies and non-profit foundations, whose funding or materials led to the creation of an innovation at FAU. Sponsored research agreements specify
what rights a sponsor has in any intellectual property developed as a result of the sponsored research. Under most circumstances, federal funding of research leading to an innovation will not impose significant impediments on commercializing the innovation via a start-up. Funding or materials provided by other entities (such as companies or non-profit foundations) may result in license rights to those entities, limiting the license rights available for a start-up. Corporate sponsors are typically granted rights to negotiate a license for any intellectual property arising from sponsored research, but sponsorship agreements vary widely. Additional information on sponsored research can be found on the Office of Sponsored Programs website.
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