Patent Policy
Each inventor will meet with a UF OTL licensing associate to discuss his or her invention and help make a preliminary evaluation of potential applications and possible markets. Based on this information, OTL will determine whether or not UF will file for a patent on the invention. Because of the cost of patent filing, OTL does not pursue patents for all invention disclosures. Typically, patent applications are handled by law firms outside of the University based on that firm's experience and background in the field that pertains to the invention. The inventor's cooperation is essential in patent filing and prosecution.
What Is A Patent?
Patents provide protection to an inventor so that he or she can develop, market, or otherwise implement an invention for a limited period of time (currently 20 years for utility patents in the U.S.). There are several types of patents, including utility, design, plant and foreign.
Patents and Publishing
Patenting an invention and publishing the results of the invention (or disclosing results at an oral presentation) are compatible. The only limitation is that a patent application should be filed before a written or oral publication is made in order to secure foreign patent rights. U.S. patent rights can be obtained as long as a U.S. patent application is submitted within one year after the information is first published or otherwise disclosed. Preparing a proper patent application takes time, and faculty/employee inventors are encouraged to submit invention disclosures to OTL as soon as possible.
Furthur Information
- IP Information
- US Patent Search
- UF Library Patent Resources Page
- NERAC: Publications, Patents, Competitors
- IP Search Engine: Intellectual Property
- Patent Cafe: Patent Information
- European Patent Search
- Canadian Patent Search
- Australia Patent Search
- UK Patent Search
- European Patent Search #2
- World Intellectual Property Organization: International rules for IP
- Genome Database: The Human Genome Project
