UC Patent Acknowledgement

UC Berkeley employees and those using UC facilities or funds under the control of the university sign a patent acknowledgement contract, agreeing to promptly disclose all inventions to the university as required by UC patent policy. The policy establishes the university’s ownership of intellectual property, which is managed for the long-term benefit of both the university and the people of the State of California.  

The Office of Technology Licensing (OTL) can help you determine whether your work is patentable and whether or not it is owned by UC.

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What is the University of California Patent Acknowledgement?

The Patent Acknowledgement assigns inventions/patents/intellectual property (IP) to the University of California, except teaching materials, scholarly works, or IP resulting from permissible consulting activities without use of university facilities. Persons signing the Patent Acknowledgement agree to disclose promptly all potentially patentable inventions to UC.

Who is required to sign the Patent Acknowledgement?

Every UC Berkeley employee is required to sign the Patent Acknowledgement as a condition of employment.

A person not employed by UC Berkeley must sign the Patent Acknowledgement before:

1. Using UC Berkeley research facilities. This includes visiting scientists and other non-UC Berkeley employees, or

2. Receiving gift, grant, or contract research funds through UC Berkeley or the UC Regents

What do I agree to by signing the Patent Acknowledgement?

Signing the Patent Acknowledgment obligates you to:

1. assign university intellectual property (as defined in the UC Policy) to the university.

2. promptly disclose all inventions (as defined in the UC Policy), in writing, to the UC Berkeley Office of Technology Licensing

3. acknowledge that you are responsible for ensuring that any employment or consulting agreements you enter into with third parties do not conflict with your preexisting and ongoing obligations to the university...

How do UC Berkeley employees confirm whether they signed the Patent Acknowledgement?

If you are a UC Berkeley employee, you signed a Patent Acknowledgement as a condition of employment. Employees can review the Patent Acknowledgement by logging into UCPATH. In the Dashboard, navigate to Employee Actions > Personal Information > Patent Acknowledgement.

Employees hired before July 1, 2024, signed an older version of the Patent...

I developed an invention in the performance of activities outside of my employment with the university (such as under a consulting agreement with a company). Am I required to disclose the invention to the UC Berkeley Office of Technology Licensing?

Yes. Report inventions created outside of the scope of your UC employment to the UC Berkeley Office of Technology Licensing using the Invention Disclaimer Request Form, omitting any proprietary information. Based on your request, OTL will ask your department leadership for the release of the invention.

How do visiting researchers, who are not UC employees, submit a signed Patent Acknowledgement, or confirm whether they’ve signed it?

Anyone conducting research at UC Berkeley who is not employed by UC must sign the Patent Acknowledgement prior to admittance to a program or lab and commencing research. This includes: Visiting Scholars, Visiting Student Researchers, Visiting Industrial Fellows, Affiliates, and Volunteers.

To submit a signed UC Patent Acknowledgement, the UC Berkeley host should connect the visiting researcher to their HR Business Partner, as identified by Berkeley Regional Services...

Intellectual Property Protection

Submit invention or software disclosures and learn about IP

Visiting Industrial Fellows

Learn more about hosting, being, or approving a visiting industrial fellow

IPIRA Concierge

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