File #: 2013-0434    Version:
Type: Ordinance Status: Passed
File created: 9/30/2013 In control: Government Accountability and Oversight Committee
On agenda: Final action: 12/16/2013
Enactment date: 12/26/2013 Enactment #: 17720
Title: AN ORDINANCE establishing a pilot program that encourages King County employees to be innovative and for the county to commercialize creative ideas, inventions, tools and software programs generated by its employees.
Sponsors: Kathy Lambert
Attachments: 1. Ordinance 17720.pdf, 2. Severson Info Innovation.pdf, 3. Staff Report 2013-0434.doc, 4. 17720 Amendment 12-16-13.pdf
Drafter
Clerk 09/24/2013
Title
AN ORDINANCE establishing a pilot program that encourages King County employees to be innovative and for the county to commercialize creative ideas, inventions, tools and software programs generated by its employees.
Body
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. King County has approximately fourteen thousand employees with a wide range of talents and skills.
2. In the course of conducting their work of providing services to the public, county employees occasionally develop new and unique products that not only allow for greater productivity, but have the potential to be patented, licensed and commercialized.
3. Examples of unique and potentially commercial products include software programs and tools.
4. It is in the public interest for county employees to find creative ways to improve productivity and for the county and its employees to experience benefits from commercializing ideas and products generated by employees.
5. Although some departments have explored ways to commercialize ideas, there is no systematic program or process for employees to promote an innovative idea in the workplace.
6. Because King County has not undertaken a project of this type to any significant degree in the past, it is appropriate to create a pilot program to commercialize creative ideas with an evaluation as to its effectiveness after some time.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. The executive shall establish a pilot program to encourage innovation. The purpose of the program is to encourage county employees to be creative and bring innovative ideas to their jobs in order to commercialize these ideas for the benefit of the county, employees and the public.
SECTION 2. For purposes of this ordinance, "innovative ideas" includes any ideas developed by county employees related to or in the course of their county job that could be commercially valuable through a patent, copyright, license or other means of commercializati...

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