INVENTION DISCLOSURE FORM (IDF)

An invention disclosure form (IDF) is a document used to formally report and document details about an invention or technically useful findings. This form is typically submitted by the inventor to their employer, research institution, or a technology transfer office (TTO) to initiate the process of protecting and potentially commercializing the invention. The invention disclosure form serves as a crucial initial step in the intellectual property management and commercialization process.

Submitting Disclosure of Your Technology

You need to submit the details of your invention or innovation to the TTO via an Invention Disclosure Form after logging into your account. This submission shall include:

  • various sponsors of the research, if any, and requires details of the technology being developed,
  • some of its potential uses,
  • potential customers/buyers of technology, and
  • allied inventions or products existing in the marketplace.

All this is necessary to pursue IP protection and scout for potential commercialization partners. In case the inventor wishes to pursue his / her startup based on the invention, it also needs to be declared in the form. If all the required information is not known upfront, TTO staff can assist you in filling out the form.

First Step to Commercializing Your Technology

Inventors should submit the Invention Disclosure Form as early as possible in the inventive process, before a public disclosure of the idea or invention. The disclosure form needs specific information that helps evaluate invention’s patentability and commercial potential.

If you are disclosing Biological Material, please use the Disclosure Form for the Biological Materials.

If you are disclosing software code, use the Software Disclosure Form .

Copyrights and Trademarks

If you are disclosing copyright and trademark materials, please use the Other Disclosure Form and select “Other” as your form type. Please contact the TTO at [email protected] with any queries or clarifications.

More about the Invention Disclosure

An innovator (could be a faculty or staff or a student) from the Partner institutions should disclose his / her invention to the KIIT-TBI TTO if they think that their research can be commercialized for public or industry benefit. Typically, inventions or innovations from Universities or Startups are early-stage innovations and require a significant investment to develop a market-viable product (MVP). Therefore, Intellectual property protection (in the form of patents and other forms of IP) is a prerequisite for industry to pursue perfecting such a technology.

As a first step, the TTO will make an assessment about the following:

  1. The legal protection of the research concept and results
  2. Identify outside development partners or industry partners for commercializing the technology.

Most researchers use government funds (from DST / DBT / ICMR etc.) or industry funds for their research. Such researchers must file an IDF. And this needs to be reported to the sponsoring or the funding agency.

Submission and Reporting:

Researchers should submit a disclosure for impactful developments and collaborate with the Technology Transfer Office (TTO) to align research with industry or community needs. TTO guides potential licensing options, and all communications are kept confidential until the intellectual property is officially filed.

Timing Matters:

Disclosures should precede any public presentation or communication to safeguard potential patent protection. Public disclosure, including publications, presentations, and online posts, significantly limits patent potential. Researchers are encouraged to disclose inventions to TTO well in advance of public sharing.

Types of Disclosures:

Materials used in research, such as cell lines or vectors, may not require patents. However, innovative processes should be considered for patent protection to attract industry investment. TTO assists in developing IP protection and licensing strategies, ensuring commercial potential while facilitating academic collaboration.

What constitutes a public disclosure? Anything that is readily available to public, may it be a journal paper, a conference presentation, a publication on the Internet, Facebook post, Instagram post, a YouTube video, or even a thesis indexed at the library, that describes the basic idea in enough detail for someone else to be able to discover and use the invention constitutes a public disclosure, including selling or offering for sale a prototype of the invention. If possible, researcher should disclose the invention several months before the invention is to be publicly disclosed, to ensure that it is properly protected. Even after filing the IDF, researchers should inform and consult the TTO of any imminent or prior presentation, abstract, research paper publication, lecture on invitation, poster session, research proposal, dissertation, or thesis or any other public display of the invention.

Completing the IDF:

The disclosure form should be meticulously filled out, including sponsorship details, a comprehensive invention description, and original signatures. Listing all contributors, regardless of affiliation, is essential for determining rights and potential collaborations.

Other Considerations:

It is important to mention the names and affiliations of all contributors to the ideas leading to an invention in the IDF, even if they are not employees of your own organization. The TTO, along with its legal counsel, will determine the rights of such persons and institutions. It is helpful to discuss possible collaborative research projects (before they begin) with the TTO to understand the implications for any joint inventions.

While filling the IDF, the researcher should describe the invention as detailed as possible. All information provided to TTO is kept confidential. Without adequate information, TTO cannot perform a complete evaluation of the invention’s licensing potential, nor can TTO obtain an accurate legal opinion as to whether it is patentable. The researcher can request for a meeting with the TTO office to discuss it in greater detail.

Importance of Dates:

Foreign patent rights are jeopardized after public disclosure. Filing a patent application must precede any public announcement to secure protection. Once publicly disclosed, patenting becomes impractical.

Navigating the intellectual property landscape requires careful consideration and adherence to these guidelines. Researchers are encouraged to engage with TTO early in the process to maximize the potential impact and protection of their innovations.

General process followed for and after filing IDF:

Researchers need to submit the IDF after logging into the TTO portal and follow the simple instructions. TTO shall contact the researcher shortly thereafter about next steps in the process of patenting and commercialization. This may include personal meetings and / or more details about the technology or domain or the industries working in the relevant domain. Feel free to contact TTO for any questions before or after the disclosure. TTO shall come back to you within one week for any more clarifications required, or with a technology evaluation report within one month of submission of IDF.