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Senate Bill 1132 |
Senate Author: Perry |
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Effective: 6-19-15 |
House Sponsor: Murr |
Senate Bill 1132 amends the Parks and Wildlife Code to authorize the Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) to apply for, register, secure, hold, and protect, under any law, a patent, copyright, trademark, service mark, collective mark, certification mark, or other evidence of protection or exclusivity issued in or for the protection and use of intellectual property. Among other provisions, the bill authorizes TPWD to enter into a contract with an individual or company for the sale, lease, marketing, or other distribution of its intellectual property and to obtain under such a contract a royalty, license right, or other appropriate means of securing appropriate compensation for the development or purchase of the intellectual property. The bill requires the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission to institute policies regarding intellectual property and provides for the deposit of money paid to TPWD under the bill's provisions to the credit of the game, fish, and water safety account or the state parks account, as appropriate.
The bill excepts intellectual property for which TPWD has applied for or received a patent, copyright, trademark, or other evidence of protection or exclusivity from required disclosure under state public information law and establishes that it is not a violation of Government Code provisions relating to personal financial disclosure, standards of conduct, and conflict of interest for a TPWD employee who conceives, creates, discovers, invents, or develops intellectual property to own or be awarded any amount of equity interest or participation in the research, development, licensing, or exploitation of that intellectual property with the Parks and Wildlife Commission's approval.