Students are actively involved in inventive activity at Northwestern. They make help make inventions and discoveries both in and out of the classroom or lab.
Like faculty, students at all levels and enrollment statuses are governed by Northwestern policies related to patent and invention and copyright. This means that, depending on how the discovery was made and what resources were used, student discoveries may be owned by the University.
Students who have not used significant Northwestern resources may be able to formalize the ownership of their invention. This requires completing the appropriate Petition to Release IP form, which releases all University rights to the student.