For Inventors
Academic researchers excel at developing new ideas. In our collaborations with researchers, we serve as the specialists at assessing ideas for commercial potential, protecting them, and turning them into licensable products.
Our knowledge of patent law, business development, and science can:
- Protect your intellectual investment
- Find or start up a company to commercialize your idea
- Realize revenues from your inventions
FAQ
How do I know if I really have invented something new? What is an invention?
An invention is a new and useful method or product that has unique features and real advantages for an end user. Sometimes the most mundane advances have significant value; similarly, the most elegant and creative work that signals an advance in a field may not have practical applications.
If you're unsure if your idea is patentable or has commercial potential, give us a call and we can do the research and paperwork to find out.
Why not just publish my work, won't that reach the greatest number of people the most quickly?
Scholarly publication and commercial development do not preclude one another. Both advance the University's mission. In some cases, commercial dissemination is the only way a discovery will reach a great number of people. It normally takes years - and large investments - to refine and develop a promising idea into a useful product. Patenting an invention and licensing it with some exclusivity creates an incentive for making these investments. Once a discovery is in the public domain - in a journal, for example - you may not be able to patent it, and its potential may never be developed .
Why can't I just commercialize it myself?
The University has the right under its statutes to retain ownership of its researchers' inventions and discoveries. The Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 (PDF) charges us with the responsibility to ensure commercial development of these inventions for the public interest.
What should I do?
As a University employee, you have a RESPONSIBILITY to disclose your inventions to the University. UChicagoTech can give you quick, free advice on the patentability of your invention, and whether it has commercial value. We're here to protect your - and the University's - interests.
Students also have an obligation to disclose inventions to the University. There are established processes for deciding whether or not University resources contributed substantially to an invention. UChicagoTech can help you in this regard, and ensure that the value of your invention is protected.
When should I call UChicagoTech?
CALL US EARLY ON, so we can help you protect your ideas. Once you have presented your ideas at a conference, published them in a scientific journal or posted them on your Web site, you may lose substantial rights TO PATENT those ideas. We'll work around your schedule, but ideally it takes four to eight weeks to file for patent protection. So when you submit an abstract for a conference or prepare a manuscript for a journal, call us too.
What do I get out of it?
If an invention is licensed to a company, UChicagoTech shares the gross revenues from the licensed technology with the inventor (25 percent) as of July 1, 2002, the inventor's laboratory (10 percent) the inventor's department (5 percent) and the inventor’s division (5 percent). The rest goes to cover the costs of running our operation. Meanwhile, it can cost $10,000 or as much as $20,000 to get a patent, just in the United States. These costs are borne entirely by UChicagoTech. Plus inventors get legal advice, business development expertise, and our knowledge of the commercial marketplace.
Why do I only get 25 percent?
This percentage compares favorably with other universities around the country. Moreover, including the revenue sharing with your lab, your department and your division, it's really more like 45 percent. You get to invent, share in the proceeds, and keep your day job, too. If you think you want to start a company to develop your idea, we can talk through that option as well.
