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[po.ubd]

If a lecturer joint supervision with a lecturer from another university on a PhD research work, who would be the rightful owner of the IP?
How would this be sorted (e.g. types of agreements needed)?

[khazzah]

If a lecturer joint supervision with a lecturer from another university on a PhD research work, who would be the rightful owner of the IP?
How would this be sorted (e.g. types of agreements needed)?

You used the term "IP", which covers more than just patents. I will, however, limit my answer to patents only, because copyright has a different set of ownership rules.

In the US, ownership of patents is controlled completely by agreement between the parties. Some other countries give the inventor has some ownership rights.

It's common to use a "joint development" agreement to spell out the rights and responsibilities of both parties. Google for "patent 'joint development" sample" and you'll see what I'm talking about.

[JimIvey]

Karen's right.

First, there are enough different types of IP that each should be spelled out in the agreement -- or at least explicitly included in "IP" as defined in your agreement(s).

Second, if you really care about who owns what, you really ought to explicitly, completely, and thoroughly spell it out in your agreement(s).

I understand you asked what type of agreements you'd need.  That's really a contract law question and beyond what we discuss here.  In addition, contracts are matters of state law, so you'll need a lawyer in your state to help you out.

This is one area where an ounce of prevention is worth many pounds of cure.  So, don't be cheap on getting help with agreement(s).

One the other hand, if you're asking because the joint venture is underway and people aren't sure who owns what, you should look at the employment contracts of the people involved and all agreements between the joint venture members.  Again, ensuring that you've looked everywhere and are interpreting the agreements properly are matters of state law.

Regards.

[po.ubd]

Thank you! This is very helpful