Intellectual property and other rights


Intellectual property and other rights	Competitive advantage
Market research	Management and company structure

Ownership

There must be clear and substantive evidence of your or your University's ownership of any idea or invention. Where an idea or invention has arisen through externally funded research (Research Council Grants, Industrial Sponsorship, European Funding, Collaborations etc) the ownership of any Intellectual Property Rights (IPR's) must be clear and, if appropriate, contractually agreed.

Furthermore, it must be clear that the University owns, or jointly owns, any IPR's as you or the University cannot transfer, or promise to transfer, a right that you do not own or have the right to use.

Inventorship and Contributors

It is in the interests of all parties who have had an inventive input or other contribution for them to be formally recognised and recorded. This is necessary for patent applications, specifically relevant with US patent applications, and also for the purpose of ensuring all contributors receive appropriate credit and remuneration for their efforts.

Prior Art Search and 3rd Party Infringement

Prior to applying for a patent application you will be asked to undertake a prior art search, this will help to establish how your new invention fits in with the current field of technology and if it is likely to meet the criteria for a patent. It also helps to establish what stage other research in the field, or similar fields, is at and whether your invention may be infringing other patents, or alternatively if you have applied for a patent, if a third party may be infringing your patent once granted.

Registered Rights and Disclosure

It is important that if you have already filed a patent application, and even more so if you have yet to seek protection for your invention, that you ensure all disclosures to external parties are done so under cover of a Non-Disclosure agreement that has been approved by your University. You must also ensure that you do not do anything, or allow others to do anything, such as publish an academic paper, that may jeopardise a patent application.