57-3C-4: Administration of act.

The department shall:

A. be responsible for the administration of the Patent and Copyright Act;

B. promulgate rules pursuant to the Patent and Copyright Act;

C. apply, on behalf of the state, for the patent protection or registration of copyright and pay the associated expenses;

D. share with the inventor, after expenses, fifty percent of the income collected on the invention or work; and

E. determine, after a cost-benefit analysis, whether to retain the patent or copyright for the state.