Invention Disclosure & TTO Operations
Invention Disclosure & TTO Operations covers the internal, day-to-day workflow of a technology transfer office (TTO), from the moment a researcher first reports a discovery through the administrative processes that keep a portfolio of inventions moving. This sub-cluster follows the structure AUTM (the Association of University Technology Managers) uses in its own professional curriculum, which separates 'Invention Disclosure and Assessment' -- intake forms, inventorship determination, prior-art and patentability screening, and initial commercial-potential review -- from broader 'Operations' concerns such as docketing systems, case management, budget tracking for outside patent counsel, conflict-of-interest screening, and coordination with sponsored-programs and legal offices. Content here is procedural rather than legal: it addresses how an office actually processes the volume of disclosures a research institution generates, rather than the substantive patent-law questions covered in the patentability sub-cluster or the statutory deadlines covered under Bayh-Dole compliance. Topics include disclosure form design, triage criteria for deciding which inventions merit patent expense, inventor communication and expectation-setting, tracking systems that link disclosures to patent applications and eventual licenses, and the internal governance structures -- committees, delegated authority, escalation paths -- that most offices use to make consistent decisions across a large and technically diverse invention portfolio. This is the operational backbone that connects an institution's research output to the more specialized legal and commercial activity covered elsewhere in this cluster.
Guides
AI Patent Landscaping and Invention-Mining Tools for University Tech Transfer Offices
How AI-assisted patent landscaping and invention-mining tools help university TTOs triage disclosures, screen prior art, and identify licensees — and where human review still matters.
Ireland’s National Tech Transfer Model: KTI and the ARC Hub Programme
How Ireland coordinates technology transfer nationally through Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI) and the Enterprise Ireland TTO network, plus Research Ireland’s 2025 ARC Hub commercialisation infrastructure programme.
AUTM Technology Transfer Practice Manual: What’s Actually in It and Who Should Buy It
A volume-by-volume breakdown of the AUTM Technology Transfer Practice Manual (TTPM): what each of its four volumes covers, how the free-for-members vs. paid non-member access model works, and a purchase-decision framework for TTOs deciding whether to buy it.
Co-Inventors: The Legal Test for Joint Inventorship
The legal test for joint inventorship under 35 U.S.C. 116, why co-inventors and co-authors are often different people, and why TTOs treat inventorship as a legal determination, not a courtesy list.
Invention Help Companies: How to Spot a Predatory Invention-Promotion Firm
Most ‘invention help’ companies are predatory invention-promotion firms, not real patent or marketing services. Learn the FTC/USPTO warning signs, your rights under the American Inventors Protection Act, and where independent inventors and university researchers can get legitimate help instead.
Invention Disclosure Form: A Worked, Filled-In Example
An illustrative, section-by-section walkthrough of what an invention disclosure form actually contains — inventors, conception date, invention description, prior disclosure, sponsor/funding source, and potential commercial applications — with a filled-in composite example for each field.
How to Conduct a Prior Art Search: Databases, Strategy, and When to Go Professional
How to conduct a prior art search: which patent databases to use (USPTO Patent Public Search, Google Patents, Espacenet, WIPO PATENTSCOPE), how to search non-patent literature, keyword vs. classification-code strategy, and when a preliminary self-search is enough versus when a professional patentability search is warranted.
Invention Disclosure: What Researchers Submit to a TTO, and Why Timing Matters
What an invention disclosure form contains, how a technology transfer office processes it, and why the timing of disclosure controls both the patent-novelty clock and the Bayh-Dole reporting clock.
Patentability Assessment: How a TTO Evaluates an Invention Disclosure
How a technology transfer office assesses novelty, non-obviousness, utility, and subject-matter eligibility to reach a file-or-don’t-file decision on a disclosed invention.
NSF Accelerating Research Translation (ART) Program
How NSF’s Accelerating Research Translation (ART) program funds institutional tech-transfer capacity-building across five tracks, distinct from SBIR/STTR and individual PI awards.
IP Docketing: Tracking Patent and Trademark Deadlines Across a Portfolio
IP docketing is the operational discipline of tracking every patent and trademark deadline across a portfolio — priority bars, office-action responses, PCT national-phase entry, and issue fees, not just renewal and annuity payments.
Patent Annuities: Managing Renewal Fees Across a Multi-Country Patent Portfolio
Outside the U.S., recurring patent-renewal fees are called annuities. This guide covers how EPO annuities work pre- and post-grant, and how university TTOs manage annuity deadlines across multi-country patent portfolios.
IP Renewals: Patent Maintenance Fees and Trademark Renewal Cycles
How a university TTO tracks patent maintenance fees and trademark renewal deadlines across its IP portfolio, and how to decide what to renew versus abandon.
The 7 Elements of an Effective Compliance Program, Applied to Tech Transfer
The OIG/Sentencing Guidelines seven-element compliance framework, applied specifically to a university technology transfer office: Bayh-Dole reporting, export control, and licensing-related conflicts of interest.
