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Eureka! You discovered that your UCSB research has commercial potential. Now it’s time to complete and submit a Disclosure and Record of Invention Form (for patentable inventions) or a Software/Copyright Invention Disclosure Form (for copyright-protected works). It all starts here — we are at our best when we have all the necessary info.
This form helps us gather key information about your invention including the details of the technology itself, when the invention was conceived, what the potential commercial applications may be, and which individuals may be co-inventors. This information will determine ownership of the invention (UCSB, UCSB and other parties, etc.) in addition to informing whether it makes sense to proceed with filing a patent application. An invention disclosure also aids in the development of our marketing strategy as we search for potential licensees. Please provide any available draft manuscripts, slide decks, posters, or other materials that include details about the invention as supplements to your completed disclosure form.
The information you provide regarding publications or any other public disclosures plays a large role in determining whether the invention is patentable; it also sets the timeline of the patent prosecution steps. The funding sources of your research that led to the invention are also important for us to know.
A detailed technical description of your invention is a required supplement to your disclosure, but the Summary of Invention and Commercial Advantages sections allow you to share higher-level info, which is critical for guiding our marketing efforts. You can provide your plan for the future development of this technology including a timeline and any related data or information on existing/publicly disclosed technologies that you think may impact your invention’s uniqueness or competitiveness. Filling out the Potentially Interested Companies section is of great help to our staff as we conduct market research and craft our outreach strategy.
It is important to include everyone who made an intellectual contribution to the conception or reduction to practice of your invention. If you have questions about how inventorship is determined (it is different from authorship) please reach out to us at prosecution@tia.ucsb.edu. The disclosure form provides separate space for inventors who are not affiliated with UCSB as well. If you would like to include more than four UCSB inventors or more than two non-UCSB inventors, you can download and fill out extra inventor sheets here:
Additional UCSB Inventor sheets
Additional Non-UCSB Inventor sheets