The purpose of this Guide is to help researchers understand the key steps and questions they should consider, and the implications of protecting, or not protecting, any intellectual property (IP) that they develop while conducting research and developing products and materials to advance safety and health in the construction industry. This Guide was developed with safety and health researchers in mind, but it is also a useful resource for inventors and developers of equipment, tools, and resources designed to make construction job sites safer and healthier for workers. Having partnered with NIOSH since the inception of the construction safety and health research program in 1990, CPWR has deliberately moved its National Construction Center from surveillance and needs determination to intervention evaluation, and then towards dissemination of evidenced-based best practices - research to practice (r2p). The acceleration of r2p activities included a CPWR-hosted Technology Transfer Symposium in May 2012, bringing researchers together with representatives of government, manufacturing, contractor associations, labor, and the insurance industry to discuss barriers and strategic approaches to diffuse health and safety technologies and best practices across the construction industry. This Guide was developed in response to a recommendation resulting from the Symposium. It is intended as a guide to help you identify issues that may come up during your work. This Guide is not legal advice. You should check your university's or organization's guidelines and policies for patents and licensing, and/or contact an intellectual property lawyer to obtain legal advice.
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