Young inventors prompt colleges to revamp rules; Associated Press, 1/24/11

Associated Press; Young inventors prompt colleges to revamp rules:

"Who owns the patents and copyrights when a student creates something of value on campus, without a professor's help?...

The issue has been cropping up on campuses across the nation, spurred by the boom in computer software in which teenagers tinkering in dorm rooms are coming up with products that rival the work of professional engineers.

Universities have had longstanding rules for inventions by faculty, generally asserting partial ownerships rights to technology created with university resources that have commercial potential. For students, though, policies often were vague because cases didn't come up very often.

With new apps worth big money, the legal questions are now being debated across academia."