Protect your ideas

Your innovations and discoveries at KU have the potential to change the world. How you handle those discoveries matters.

Disclose your ideas

Lab Notebook

Standard invention disclosure

Detailed description of potentially patentable invention, its features and potential applications + supporting data or experimental results.
KU Notebook

Creative work disclosure

Used for writings, videos, music or other works that may be protectable by copyright, such as surveys, assessments or tools.
Research activities

Software disclosure

Requires more detailed description of technical details, including programming language, algorithms + specific functionality.
Research activity

Research tool disclosure

Used for disclosing research tools and reagents such as antibodies, plasmids, cell lines, or unique animal models.

Whether you want to start your own company or license your idea to an established company, the KU Center for Technology Commercialization will help you through the process of partnering, disclosing your findings, filing for patents, and understanding your rights and responsibilities.

Disclosing — the sooner, the better

Submitting your invention to KUCTC is the first step in taking ownership of your ideas. To protect your patent rights in the U.S. and abroad, it's important that you complete an invention disclosure before your work enters the public domain.

What is public disclosure?

Under patent law, public disclosure is any non-confidential communication of an idea or invention.

Public disclosures may include:

  • Conventional academic printed and online publications
  • Abstracts
  • Master’s theses and Ph.D. dissertations and open defenses
  • Presentations (posters and oral presentations)
  • Department and campus seminars
  • Information posted online
  • Publicly available abstracts of funded grant proposals

What is not public disclosure?

  • Faculty and lab meetings attended by KU employees only
  • Confidential submissions to publications provided that the journal has confidentiality agreements with reviewers prior to acceptance and publication
  • Unfunded government grant applications
  • Discussions under a confidentiality agreement

If you’re not sure, please email kuctc@ku.edu to check if something you’re planning to do represents a public disclosure, or if you suspect you might have already publicly disclosed your invention.

Remember, faculty, staff and student inventors and creators should submit disclosures per the KU IP Policy. After receiving a disclosure, KUCTC will contact you to schedule a time to discuss the IP and address any questions you may have. The disclosure will then be evaluated to determine potential commercialization and protection strategies if appropriate. Our team will work with you to ensure the process of protecting your ideas is efficient so you can continue to do what you love.