History

The Office of Intellectual Property Management (IPM) at Oklahoma State University assists faculty and staff members, administrators, and students with intellectual property issues resulting from their scholarly and creative activities.

Although OSU long has been involved in the protection of its intellectual property, the office was established formally in 1998 following passage of State Questions 680 and 681. This legislation authorized academic institutions and their employees to own and commercialize the technologies they develop and to hold an interest in private business.

This coincides with the provisions of the federal Bayh-Dole Act (1980), which encourages universities to participate in technology transfer activities and to commercialize inventions that result from federally funded research.

The work of IPM responds to these charges and fulfills the third part of OSU’s threefold mission: 1) teaching, 2) research and scholarly activity, and 3) dissemination of knowledge.