CHAPTER 2. Intellectual Property [13988. - 13988.4.]

Cal. Government Code - GOV 2.

in effect

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 13988. Section 13988.

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) The state is home to many of the world’s top research universities, national laboratories, and leading-edge high-technology companies that generate significant intellectual property. (b) It is in the interest of the state to ensure that the results of state-funded research are promptly developed and protected and to make the research available in the public domain, where appropriate. (c) The commercialization of technology developed with the investment of taxpayer dollars in the form of contracts, grants, and agreements could generate public benefit, including, but not limited to, state revenues, favorable pricing, revenue sharing, reinvestment into research, development of new technologies, the commercialization of the product of state-funded research, and the jobs created from these types of research. (d) It is in the interest of the state to facilitate, promote, and enhance technology transfer programs that will facilitate the transfer of technology into the marketplace for the public benefit. (e) The Legislature supports the use of efficient models to develop and streamline infrastructures, policies, and processes for the management of intellectual property developed under state funding in order to stimulate economic development in the state while, at the same time, minimizing costs of administering policies in this area. (f) It is the intent of the Legislature that the rights of state agencies and departments to track and manage intellectual property created with any state funds shall be interpreted so as to promote the benefit to the public. (g) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Department of General Services have access to information about intellectual property created by state employees and by state-funded research, consistent with state and federal laws and regulations governing access to this information. (h) The Legislature recognizes that the licensing of or limitations on the use of intellectual property should accommodate free expression and, therefore, state agencies and departments should not develop policies or procedures to license or otherwise limit the use of the state’s intellectual property in expressive works created by nonstate employees or without state funding.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 13988.1. Section 13988.1.

Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions in this section govern the construction of this chapter: (a) “Department” means the Department of General Services. (b) “Databases” means compilations of data, typically generated from research, sometimes from one source, but often combined from many sources. (c) “Expressive works” means a play, book, magazine, newspaper, musical composition, audiovisual work, radio or television program, work of art, work of political or newsworthy value, or an advertisement or commercial announcement for any of these works, if it is fictional or nonfictional entertainment, or a dramatic, literary, or musical work. (d) “Intellectual property” means intangible assets that are subject to statutory protection under applicable patent, copyright, and trademark law. Intellectual property includes, but is not limited to, inventions, industrial designs, identifying marks and symbols, electronic publications, trade secrets, and literary, musical, artistic, photographic, and film works. (e) “State funding” shall not include either of the following: (1) Funding from the California Film and Television Tax Credit Program established pursuant to Sections 17053.85 and 23685 of the Revenue and Taxation Code and Chapter 7.75 (commencing with Section 5500) of Title 10 of the California Code of Regulations. (2) Any fee, tax, fine, or penalty assessed, collected, or received by an air pollution control district or an air quality management district, including any fee, tax, fine, or penalty that is authorized by the state but is not remitted to a state agency. However, state funding shall include a fee, tax, fine, or penalty that is collected by an air pollution control district or an air quality management district that is remitted to a state agency, such as the State Air Resources Board.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 13988.2. Section 13988.2.

(a) The department shall perform all of the following functions: (1) Commencing January 1, 2015, and every three years thereafter, track intellectual property generated by state employees or with state funding. (2) Develop a database that includes, but is not limited to, tracking intellectual property by category of protection, date of creation, owner of intellectual property, grantee, state agency or granting entity, sources of funding, and status of licensing, including invention utilization updates. Failure to include an item in the database does not create any presumption regarding ownership. Prior to January 1, 2018, the database shall include the summary of state-owned intellectual property found in the California State Auditor’s Report 2011-106 on intellectual property. After January 1, 2018, and every three years thereafter, the database shall be updated using information collected by the department pursuant to this section. (3) Develop a sample maintenance plan of an inventory of intellectual property. (4) Develop factors that state agencies should consider when deciding whether to sell their intellectual property or license it to others. (5) Develop an outreach campaign informing state agencies of their rights and abilities concerning intellectual property created by their employees. (6) Develop sample invention assignment agreements that state agencies can consider if they believe it is necessary to secure the rights to potentially patentable items created by their employees on worktime using state resources. (7) Develop sample language for licenses or terms-of-use agreements that state agencies can use to limit the use of their intellectual property by others to only appropriate purposes. (b) This section shall not apply to the use of expressive works created by nonstate employees or without state funding.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 13988.3. Section 13988.3.

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, state agencies and departments may, upon request, share records and information related to intellectual property generated by state employees or with state funding with the department. (b) Any employee or former employee of the department who has access to or knowledge of the records and information described in subdivision (a), shall not divulge or make known to any person not employed by the department in any manner not expressly permitted by law any particulars of these records or information that is restricted by law from public disclosure, or represents a first publication of research results, or information pertaining to patent rights that would not otherwise be publicly available.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 13988.4. Section 13988.4.

(a) This chapter shall not apply to intellectual property or intellectual property related agreements administered by the Regents of the University of California, the subcontractors of the Regents of the University of California, and the Trustees of the California State University. This chapter shall apply to a funding agreement from a state agency for the performance of research, and these funding agreements shall be subject to the model contract provisions developed pursuant to Chapter 14.27 (commencing with Section 67325) of Part 40 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code. (b) This chapter shall not apply to intellectual property agreements governed by the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Bond Act (Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 125290.10) of Part 5 of Division 106 of the Health and Safety Code). (c) This chapter shall not apply to an intellectual property agreement entered into by the California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 65057.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026