Intellectual Property Protection

After creating, discovering, or authoring something unique with potential commercial or research value, ACT QUICKLY.

REPORT INNOVATIONS as early as possible so the UC Berkeley Office of Technology Licensing can provide assistance with patent and copyright filings. These disclosures will be kept confidential.

If you have questions, email otl@berkeley.edu.

After submitting a disclosure, you will receive an email with your disclosure's case number and the name of the licensing officer who will work with you on assessing the commercial potential of your innovation.

Who Should Disclose Inventions to OTL

Criteria for UC employees, visitors, and students

Disclose an Invention Online

UC Berkeley inventors should submit discoveries through the online database (CalNet ID required)

Download an Invention Disclosure Form

Inventors outside of UC Berkeley can email this form to IPIRA OTL

Disclose Software

Get started protecting software, multimedia, or algorithms

Tech Transfer Processes and Timelines

Guides for inventors on commercializing IP

Guides to Outside Consulting

Recommendations for entering into personal consulting agreements with outside entities

Evaluation of Inventions

How licensing officers assess patentability and commercial potential

Standard License Agreements

Sample agreements for commercializing IP and establishing companies.

Startup Pathways

Start here to spinout a company from university IP

Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Policies

UC policies on inventorship, copyrights, patents, licensing, and starting a company

If you developed an invention in the performance of activities outside of the university, and you don't want to disclose proprietary information as part of your invention disclosure to the university, you can use the Invention Disclaimer Request Form.

Non-UC Invention Ownership Waiver

Use this to disclose a non-UC owned invention

FAQs

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What if the University is not interested in or does not own the invention?

If the University determines that it does not own an invention (such as when it was made outside of university duties and with only de minimus use of university facilities post-docs, research staff, or students employed by the university; and without use of gift, grant or funding in contracts received through the university), or concludes that it is not interested in patenting and licensing an invention, then the invention must be offered to the sponsor of the research (often the U.S. government). If no sponsor obligations exist then the OTL may waive title to...

What is a patent and what is the consequence of patenting at the University?

A patent is a property right that protects an invention. A patent allows its owner to prevent others from commercially exploiting the patented invention. Patenting does not preclude publishing, on the contrary, it requires full disclosure of what it is that others may not do for the life of the patent, in the absence of a license to (or ownership of) the patent. Three types of patents may be obtained: utility, design, and plant.

Patents owned by the University are responsibly licensed in a way that protects the University's goals of basic research, education, and public service,...

How are Berkeley's inventions and other discoveries commercialized?

Inventions are commercialized through licenses. The Berkeley OTL licenses Berkeley's patent rights, personal property rights, and certain copyrights to companies for commercial development. Technology licenses grant companies the right to sell goods and services based on the University's inventions in exchange for fair compensation to the University. Licenses can be exclusive, nonexclusive, co-exclusive, and can also be limited in duration, specific geography, or particular purpose. Regardless of the type of license, the University retains the right to continue to practice the inventions,...

How can I assist the marketing efforts?

Your input into the process of finding the best match between the invention (or software/copyrights) and a private sector licensee is welcome, as your web of research relationships and even personal consulting relationships are often vital to reaching the right decision makers in industry. Conflict-of-interest in licensing policies don't allow you to make unilateral decisions, but by effectively partnering with you we can usually find a good match for the IP rights by finding licensees that fulfill the mission of translating great research into useful products and services that...

What happens to my disclosure after it is submitted?

Rights management: After a disclosure is received by the OTL, federal and other sponsors of the research program that led to the invention are notified (as is required by law), and the disclosure is assigned to a member of the licensing staff. That individual becomes the primary contact person for the inventor and manages the processes of: (a) determining the invention's ownership, third party rights and obligations, (b) evaluating the invention's commercial and patent/copyright potential, (c) assessing licensing prospects, and (d) prosecuting patents.

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Who is an inventor?

An inventor is anyone who actually conceives an invention and/or has contributed to conception of an invention with another inventor. All inventors need not make equal contributions. Inventorship is a legal determination made by a patent attorney and is not the same as authorship on a scientific paper.

What do I do when I have made a discovery?

Employees of the University have an obligation to disclose their inventions in writing to the Office of Technology Licensing. The IPIRA website provides links for disclosing your invention or copyrightable work as well as information about the process for disclosing an invention, tangible material, copyrightable software, multimedia (including software), or technical data.

Due to restrictions on patenting, if a disclosure is made to the OTL after it has been publicly disseminated in an enabling way...

What is an invention?

An invention is a development that is a new, useful, and unobvious process, machine, algorithm, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof.

In general, an invention is a form of intellectual property that is, or may be patentable under Title 35 of the United States Code (the so-called patent statute).

What can be patented?

Your work is patentable if it meets 5 criteria:

Patentable Subject Matter: Process, machine, article of manufacture, composition of matter, improvement of any of these.

What is not Patentable: Laws of nature, physical phenomena, Abstract ideas, Literary (dramatic, musical, and artistic works), those inventions that are useful or offensive to the public.

Utility: What is the purpose of your innovation? Do you, as the inventor, still need to find its function? Before applying for a patent your innovation requires a use, function, or purpose. It can not be determined, or researched...

What is a patent?

A patent protects novel ideas for useful products and methods.

A patent is a property right granted by the Government of the United States of America to an inventor “to exclude others from making, using, offering sale, or selling the invention throughout the United States or importing the invention into the United States” for a limited time in exchange for public disclosure of the invention when the patent is granted.

The...

Who is considered an inventor?

An inventor is anyone who actually conceives an invention and/or has contributed to conception of an invention with another inventor. All inventors need not make equal contributions. Inventorship is a legal determination made by a patent attorney and is not the same as authorship on a scientific paper.

What are the various types of IP?

Patents

A patent for an invention grants “the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling” the invention or importing the invention into the country where patent rights exist. Patentable subject matter includes new compounds, methods, plants, and software. Obtaining a patent can take many years and significant expense. Learn more at the UC Berkeley Patent Website.

Copyrights

Copyright protects the effort that goes into creating “original works of authorship” and art by providing exclusive rights to the...

What is Intellectual Property (IP)?

Intellectual property (IP) refers to a category of intangible property rights comprising primarily patents, copyright, trademarks, and trade secrets.

Review the UCOP IP Essentials for Academic Researchers for an interactive overview about each of the various types of IP and how they are protected, as well as the IP rights and responsibilities of researchers.