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Intellectual Property Insurance in Kansas

Kansas limits employee-invention assignment clauses for qualifying own-time inventions but separately requires employees to disclose all inventions under development at hiring or later so ownership rights can be determined. That disclosure and the exceptions for employer resources, business relevance, anticipated R&D, or work results make invention schedules and employee agreements central inputs when you buy IP defense or enforcement cover. 1,2

What Is Intellectual Property?

Intellectual property insurance comes in two separate parts: defense, when you're accused of infringing a patent, trademark or copyright, and enforcement, when you pursue someone who copied yours. A defense-only quote doesn't pay for your own lawsuit, so ask for each part you need. Read the national Intellectual property guide.

What to Watch for in Kansas

  • Collect Employee Invention Disclosures

    Kansas law says employees must disclose all inventions they are developing at employment or later, even when they meet the own-time exception, so the parties can determine rights. Maintain dated disclosures alongside assignments and R&D records, then ask the broker how the application treats inventions with disputed or shared ownership. 1

  • Check The Limits On Assignment Clauses

    An employment assignment does not apply to an invention made entirely on the employee’s own time without employer equipment, supplies, facilities, or trade-secret information unless it relates to the employer’s business or anticipated R&D, or results from the employee’s work. Kansas also requires written notice of this carve-out when an agreement assigns inventions. 1

  • List Contract Duties Separately

    Kansas’s Trade Secrets Act displaces conflicting state civil remedies for trade-secret misappropriation but expressly preserves contractual remedies, including those not based on misappropriation. Give the broker the relevant license, NDA, and development terms and ask how the actual form treats contractual IP allegations. 2

Who Regulates Insurance in Kansas

Kansas Insurance Department

The Kansas Insurance Department regulates companies selling policies in Kansas for solvency and compliance with state law. Its consumer assistance team reviews written complaints, contacts the appropriate parties and requests corrective action when it finds a Kansas insurance-law violation. 3,4,8,5

Surplus-lines tax and stamping office

Reported tax rate: 3% of gross premiums less returned premiums for surplus-lines insureds whose home state is Kansas; the 3% rate applies beginning with taxable year January 1, 2024 For surplus-lines business whose insured's home state is Kansas, the licensed agent must collect and pay a 3% tax on gross premiums less returned premiums; the 3% rate applies beginning with the taxable year starting January 1, 2024. For an exempt commercial purchaser, the surplus-lines producer need not file the signed diligent-search statement after disclosing that admitted-market insurance may or may not be available and may provide greater protection and oversight, then receiving the purchaser's subsequent written request. 6,7

Providers With Documented State Licenses

No provider in Spot’s research documents both a state license record and this coverage line. This does not establish that providers are unlicensed. Check the regulator’s license lookup and confirm availability with a provider when requesting a quote.

Questions to Ask Before You Buy in Kansas

  1. Do our Kansas onboarding and later employee processes capture every invention under development and preserve the date and ownership determination?
  2. Which employee inventions relied on company equipment, facilities, trade-secret information, or assigned work, and which fit a statutory exception?
  3. Does the policy’s defense grant address contract claims that accompany a Kansas trade-secret allegation, and are those claims subject to a separate exclusion or sublimit?

Intellectual Property in Kansas: FAQ

Must Kansas employees disclose inventions developed on their own time? 1

Yes. Kansas requires disclosure of all inventions an employee is developing at employment or later so the employer and employee can determine their rights, even if the employee meets the own-time conditions. 1

Does Kansas trade-secret law displace contract claims? 2

No. Kansas displaces conflicting state civil remedies for trade-secret misappropriation but expressly preserves contractual remedies, whether or not they are based on misappropriation. 2

Intellectual Property in Other States

Other Coverage in Kansas

Sources

  1. K.S.A. 44-130, Employee Invention Agreements. Kansas Revisor of Statutes; Subsections (a)-(d), 2026 Kansas Statutes; code page data updated September 28, 2026; history L. 1986, ch. 186, §1. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  2. K.S.A. 60-3326, Application of Trade Secrets Act. Kansas Legislature, 2026 Kansas Statutes; Subsections (a)-(b), preserved contract remedies; code data page reviewed September 24, 2026. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  3. Kansas Insurance Department. Kansas Insurance Department; KID's current September 2025 Consumer Connection states the Department regulates companies selling policies in Kansas for solvency and compliance; current KID complaint guide gives consumer-assistance process and contacts. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  4. Licensing FAQ. Kansas Insurance Department; KID FAQ currently indexed as directing users to SBS Lookup, select Kansas jurisdiction and Licensee Search Type; direct KID route returned HTTP 403 to this verifier. SBS lookup endpoint linked in regulator. KID's Sept. 29, 2025 guide also directs consumers to NIPR existing-license verification for agents. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  5. How to File a Complaint. Kansas Insurance Department; Current 2-page KID PDF, p.1: consumer-assistance representative evaluates issue, asks for written complaint, reviews it and contacts appropriate parties; requests corrective action for Kansas law violation. p.2 publishes main phone 785-296-3071, hotline 800-432-2484 and insurance.kansas.gov/complaint. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  6. K.S.A. 40-246c. Kansas Legislature; 2026 Kansas Statutes, K.S.A. 40-246c(a)(2): for insureds whose home state is Kansas, licensed agent collects and pays 3% of total gross premiums less returned premiums; applies beginning taxable year Jan. 1, 2024. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  7. K.S.A. 40-246g. Kansas Legislature; 2026 Kansas Statutes, K.S.A. 40-246g(a)–(b): exempt commercial purchaser route waives signed statement if producer discloses admitted insurance may or may not be available and may give greater protection/oversight, followed by purchaser's written request; effective Jan. 1, 2016. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  8. Consumer Connection: Life Insurance to Future Proof Your Family. Kansas Department of Insurance; September 29, 2025, p.1: directs Kansans to NIPR existing-license verification and gives the Department's 785-296-3071 phone; mission says regulate companies selling policies in Kansas for solvency and compliance. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  9. Licenses. At-Bay; Current producer introduction and state table; At-Bay Insurance Services LLC; P&C and surplus-lines identifiers. Accessed 2026-09-21.
  10. Licenses and Carriers. Coalition; Licenses and Carriers, re-read 22 September 2026: Insurance Licenses table for Coalition Insurance Solutions, Inc., national producer number 18419475, with producer and surplus-lines numbers for all 50 states and DC including California 0L76155, Georgia 196479, Texas 2199630 and 2205589, Pennsylvania 815731 and 817452, Colorado 539028 and Wisconsin 3000108852. Insurance Carriers table naming, with NAIC numbers, Allianz Underwriters Insurance Company 36420, Arch Specialty Insurance Company 21199, Ascot Specialty Insurance Company 45055, Ascot Insurance Company 23752, Aspen Specialty Insurance Company 10717, Chaucer Insurance Company DAC, Coalition Insurance Company 29530, Fireman's Fund Indemnity Corporation 11380, Fortegra Specialty Insurance Company 16823, Lloyd's of London, MSIG Specialty Insurance USA Inc. 34886, MS Transverse Specialty Insurance Company 41807, Steadfast Insurance Company 26387, Vantage Risk Specialty Insurance Company 16275 and Zurich American Insurance Company 16535. Accessed 2026-09-22.
  11. Insurance Producer Licenses. Corgi Insurance; Current complete Insurance Producer Licenses table for Corgi Insurance Services, Inc.; 50 rows covering 49 states and DC (DC 3003091619); no New Mexico row; no NPN or as-of date shown. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  12. About Hiscox US Insurance. Hiscox; Hiscox Insurance Company Inc. NAIC 10200 as Chicago, IL domiciled insurer admitted or licensed in all 50 states and D.C.; Hiscox Inc. as general agent and Lloyd’s coverholder for Syndicates 33 and 3624; surplus-lines placements through licensed surplus-lines brokers; A.M. Best rating statement. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  13. Licenses. ERGO NEXT Insurance; Current entity-by-state license table reopened 28 September 2026: 50 rows under Next First Insurance Agency, Inc., including Washington, DC; New York rows instead list Next Insurance Services PC-1423070 and AP Intego BR-1198885. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  14. Insurance Licenses by State. TechInsurance; Current state table; identifies TechInsurance as a division of Specialty Program Group LLC d/b/a SPG Insurance Solutions; lists DC 3000041536 and labels Rhode Island “Individual licenses,” without an agency license number. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  15. Licenses. Vouch; Effective 16 January 2025: Vouch Specialty Insurance Services, LLC, NPN 19926463; P&C table (50 states and DC); surplus-lines table includes Idaho 870820; footnote says Georgia and Idaho do not issue agency-level surplus-lines licenses; Idaho retained as producer-only due to conflict. Accessed 2026-09-15.

Updated .

This guide is informational and does not determine whether a policy is available or meets your needs. Editorial policy. To suggest a correction, contact Spot with a supporting source.

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