Proprietary Information

Proprietary Information, as defined on Laboratory Wiki, is any information that is legally owned by any for-profit company. It is distinguished from intellectual property on Laboratory Wiki because many universities consider discoveries made within their purview as their legal property, and ask scientists to sign disclosure forms to prevent independent management of such discoveries. Furthermore, proprietary information is a term often publicly regarded in a capitalistic sense, necessitating its distinction here from intellectual property gathered in a non-profit environment, such as a major university or 501(c) organization. This distinction is particularly important in many laboratory environments, where the two ideas can easily coincide, and where such information may not necessarily be used for financial gain.

Because this wiki is designed to provide a discussion forum, proprietary information is defined here in the interest of precautioning editors against adding any content that they have not obtained express permission from the owner to post on this wiki. Any material matching this criterion will be removed without notice, and any editors repeatedly posting proprietary information without permission, after being fairly warned against it, will be blocked from this wiki. This admonishment is in the interest of avoiding violation of copyright and patent laws.

Types

 * Protocols developed by copyright/patent-holders
 * Discoveries or advancements made by for-profit organizations
 * Logos, symbols, or any other visual representation of any idea or product owned by a patent-holder

NoPro Rule
The NoPro Rule is designed to prevent posting of any proprietary information on this wiki without the express consent of the owner of such information. It is in the interest of preventing copyright violation on this wiki, and is used to justify the swift removal of any material that is in violation.