Technology Disclosure

What information is needed for the Technology Disclosure Form?

The minimum requirement includes the names of the inventors, a working title, and a description of the invention. This information needs to be included in the Technology Disclosure Form. In addition, we ask for background information on any known references to existing technology (prior art), commercial potential, research sponsors, any commercial firms that may be interested in licensing, etc. This information allows OTMC to make a preliminary assessment of the patentability and commercial potential of the invention.

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What if one of the inventors is from another institution?

Many research projects involve collaborators from another university, company, research laboratory, etc. so it is not uncommon to have outside co-inventors. In such cases, each institution will have an unrestricted right to commercialize the technology without any accounting to the other–unless there is a written agreement specifying how the IP rights are to be handled.

When the co-inventor is from another University, the institution of the lead inventor will generally prepare a written inter-institutional agreement whereby it agrees to take the lead in patenting and commercializing the technology. Under the agreement, royalty income is shared between the institutions in an equitable manner and each institution distributes its share in accord with its own policies.

When the co-inventor is from a company, a license agreement may be negotiated defining the rights of the parties in commercializing the technology.

Please contact the office of OTMC to work out an agreement if you believe that your research may lead to patentable or commercial technology.

What happens to my disclosure after it is submitted?

Once OTMC receives your disclosure, we will meet with you to discuss your invention in more detail to assess its patentability and commercial potential.

For technologies with commercial promise, we often file a lower cost provisional patent application to allow sufficient time to find a commercial partner. Generally, we do not file a regular patent application without a commitment from a prospective licensee or have a good indication the technology is valuable enough. The cost of obtaining a patent can run from about $10,000 - $20,000+.