鶹ѰBoulder announces new intellectual property policy
Effective Aug. 25, 2026, 鶹ѰBoulder has implemented a new campus-wide intellectual property policy, as required under 鶹ѰRegentsand 鶹ѰSystem’s , to better support intellectual property (IP) management and commercialization. Venture Partners at 鶹ѰBoulder has prepared this questions-and-answers article as guidance for the 鶹ѰBoulder campus and encourages faculty, staff and students to review the full policies.
Researchers, inventors and creators should submit a disclosure of any invention or copyrighted material before publishing it to ensure its protection.
Early announcements or publications, whether written or spoken, can jeopardize the protection and commercialization of your invention or copyrighted material. Establishing personal contact and submitting a Disclosure Form quickly is a crucial first step.
What is intellectual property?
Intellectual property (IP) refers to the legal rights that protect an innovation, creative work or discovery, including patents, copyright and trademarks. IP is critical to bringing innovations from the University of Colorado to market.
Who will be impacted by these policy changes?
鶹ѰBoulder’s IP policy applies to a range of situations, affiliations and personnel on campus.Anyone generating intellectual property while affiliated with 鶹ѰBoulder or using 鶹ѰBoulder resources to do so shouldreview the policy.
If you're interested in commercializing inventions or have made a new discovery, a great place to start isdisclosing it to Venture Partners.Disclosing an invention provides you with expert guidance on relevant resources and interpretation of CU’s IP policies, but disclosure does not affect ownership.
Employees in 鶹ѰDenver’s physical sciences and at UCCS should check back later, as their campus policies are still in development. Employees in 鶹ѰDenver’s biosciences and at 鶹ѰAnschutz should refer to.
What does the 鶹ѰBoulder IP policy do?
鶹ѰBoulder’s IP policy and procedure aim to help the campus translate research and resulting inventions into real-world impact. Many processes and structures support that goal, including compliance with federal regulations and standardizing how the university mobilizes promising inventions.
Specifically, the IP policy:
- Establishes the parameters of the university’s ownership of IP
- Guides how the university manages IP and its commercialization
- Sets practices for associated activities, like creating startup companies
- Provides guidance to inventors and creators about their responsibilities
- Describes how the campus’s revenue from IP is shared
The 鶹ѰBoulder IP policy went into effect on Aug. 25, 2026.
Importantly, the policy is not a step-by-step guide to how inventors should seek to commercialize their research, or a description of the many resources the university offers in support. For that, explore opportunities and support from Venture Partners.
Why did 鶹ѰBoulder create this new policy?
In 2015, the University of Colorado moved IP commercialization and the associated IP management from a system-level technology transfer office to the campus level, which led toVenture Partners. Now, Regent and the paired have been amended to better support this structure, and, in accordance, CU’s campuses have implemented their own IP policies with campus-specific direction.
The field of university innovation and entrepreneurship has evolved significantly since the policies were last revised in 2006, and the new campus policy reflects the university’s commitment to exercising the best and most current practices and opportunities for our faculty and students in IP management and commercialization
What was changed or updated from the previous policy?
The new policy and procedure includes multiple clarifying changes; those interested are encouraged toreview the policies in full.
Revenue Distribution
The 鶹ѰBoulder IP policy sets the distribution formula for IP licensing revenue received by the university (known as “Net Receipts” in the policy), as follows:
- 35% to discoverer(s) of the invention(s) generating the revenue
- 25% to the 鶹ѰBoulder Office of the Chancellor
- 25% to Venture Partners
- 15% to the College(s) and/or Institute(s) in which the invention(s) generating the revenue were created
These changes—relative to the prior system-level policy—increase the inventor share from 25% to 35%, and create a new 15% share for colleges and institutes. The Chancellor and Venture Partners retain their 25% shares. The policy removed the 25% share previously allocated to campus research accounts.
Software
Today, software and related IP operate in a very different environment than under the prior IP policy. To modernize how software is handled, the new policy and procedure clarify that software created for academic or other non-commercial purposes may be released under open-source licensing at thecreator's discretion, without disclosing the software to or obtaining permission from the university, unless otherwise stipulated by a contract or grant sponsor.
Undergraduate Student IP
The campus policy and procedure now address undergraduate student IP, providing clarity for students and their campus collaborators. In almost all cases, the university doesnotown IP created by undergraduates.
Why was the IP revenue distribution changed?
The changes reflect the adoption of national best practices among U.S. universities to pursue IP commercialization opportunities and support faculty and students.
- At 25%, the inventor share at 鶹Ѱhistorically fell below the 33% average among universities; therefore, it was increased to 35%.
- 鶹Ѱlacked a revenue share to the home academic unit, which significantly supports faculty; therefore, a new 15% share to the college and/or institute was created.
- A research account share is not common practice among peer universities, and benefits some inventors but not others; therefore, it was replaced with an increased share to all inventors and the share to the entire academic unit.
For inventors looking for other ways that IP commercialization can increase funding to their research lab, there are many options. The following grant programs are specifically directed to IP commercialization:
- U.S. Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards
- sponsored research from a startup or corporate partner
- Commercialization-specific grants such as
- CU’s Lab Venture Challenge
- Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) Proof of Concept (POC) grants
- U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Translation to Practice program and Engines
- Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) and Advanced Research Projects Agency - Health(ARPA-H) grants.
Historically, such funding sources represent several orders of magnitude more research performed by 鶹ѰBoulder than the previously used research account share of IP revenue. To support faculty pursuing these commercialization-oriented funding sources, 鶹ѰBoulder’sCenter for Translational Research, part of Venture Partners, provides funding identification and proposal guidance.
Beyond the new campus policy and procedure on IP, how can inventors get guidance and support for their innovations?
鶹ѰBoulder has a wealth of resources and programs to support faculty, staff and student inventors. Examples include commercialization grant opportunities, mentorship and startup competitions, accelerators, and investment funding. For more,visit the Venture Partners website to learn more about what we do for university innovators. Undergraduate student inventors shouldvisit the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative website.
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