Employees Must Disclose Benefits from State Contracts, Patents, Copyrights and Proprietary Information

Some disclosures must be reported annually by Jan. 31, but also should be submitted within 30 days of learning of a benefit.

Any U of A employee contracting or receiving benefits under contracts involving patents, copyrights or other proprietary information in which the university and the employee have rights or interests shall file with the Secretary of State a disclosure of the type and amount of the contract or benefits received during the previous year no later than Jan. 31 of each year, according to Ark. Code Ann § 19-11-717.

To satisfy this requirement, employees may use a form provided by the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration for disclosures under Ark. Code 19-11-706 (form on page 5). Any benefits received relevant to patents, copyrights and proprietary information during 2023 must be reported by the end of January.

General Disclosure of Benefit From State Contracts

Throughout the year, any employee who has or obtains any benefit from any state contract with a business in which the employee has a financial interest shall report such benefits to the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration using the same form above, per Ark. Code Ann. § 19-11-706. This is a continuing obligation to disclose and is not restricted to the annual disclosure of benefits gained from contracts involving patents, copyrights and proprietary information that is due each January. Employees may submit this general disclosure as needed when such situations arise, but it must be submitted within 30 days of the date that they learn of a benefit received or to be received.

Additional information regarding disclosure requirements may be found in the campus policy on conflict of interest and outside employment, located at vcfa.uark.edu, included in Section VIII of the policy. Information regarding prior approval for concurrent employment may be located at provost.uark.edu.