A creator who leaves KSU employment remains entitled to their share of net revenue from KSU-owned IP created during their time at KSU.
Revenue distributed to departments or units should be used to support research, scholarly activities, or educational purposes within that unit.
In cases where KSU takes an equity interest in a company licensing KSU IP, the distribution of proceeds from that equity will be handled on a case-by-case basis, consistent with the principles of this revenue-sharing policy and any applicable conflict-of-interest policies.
The use of Kentucky State University's name, logos, seals, trademarks, or other identifying marks in connection with intellectual property created by faculty, staff, or students must be approved in advance by the appropriate KSU authorities, typically the Office of the President or their designee, in consultation with the Office of General Counsel. This provision applies whether the intellectual property is owned by the creator(s) or KSU.
Faculty members generally own the copyright to their instructional materials—such as syllabi, lecture notes, presentations, and similar materials—which are created for their teaching activities at KSU, provided these are not KSU-sponsored works or created with significant KSU resources beyond what is typically provided for course development.
KSU shall have a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable license to use, adapt, and reproduce such copyrighted materials for internal instructional, educational, and administrative purposes, including for accreditation and archival purposes. This license allows KSU to continue using such materials for teaching its courses should the faculty member leave KSU or be reassigned, but does not permit KSU to commercialize these materials without the faculty member's written consent.
KSU encourages the use of copyrighted materials in compliance with applicable law, including the principles of fair use. Faculty, staff, and students are responsible for understanding and adhering to copyright law and KSU policies regarding the use of copyrighted works of others.
Ownership of software will be determined according to the principles outlined in the section titled “Ownership of Intellectual Property.” Such determination will consider whether it is a scholarly work, KSU-sponsored work, or student work.