Any employee or student of the University of South Carolina may disclose an invention to TCO.
Patentable subject matter includes processes, machines, compositions of matter, articles, some computer programs, and methods (including methods of making compositions, methods of making articles, methods of using devices or compounds, etc.)
Generally, no. A natural substance that has never before been isolated or known may be patentable in some instances, but only in its isolated form (since the isolated form had never been known before). A variation of a naturally occurring substance may be patentable if an inventor is able to demonstrate substantial non-obvious modifications that offer advantages of using the variant.
Under U.S. law, an inventor is a person who takes part in the conception of the ideas in the patent claims of a patent application. Thus, inventorship of a patent application may change as the patent claims are changed during prosecution of the application. An employer or person who only furnishes money to build or practice an invention is not an inventor. Inventorship is a legal issue and may require an intricate legal determination by the patent attorney prosecuting the application.
If you created the invention under a sponsored research or consulting agreement with a company, we will need to review that contract to determine ownership and other rights associated with the contract and to determine the appropriate next steps. Should the technology be jointly owned with another academic institution, we will usually enter into an inter-institutional agreement that provides for one of the institutions to take the lead in protecting and licensing the invention, sharing of expenses associated with the patenting process and allocating any licensing revenues. If the technology is jointly owned with another company, we will work with the company to determine the appropriate patenting and licensing strategy.
We contract with outside patent counsel for IP protection, thus assuring access to patent specialists in diverse technology areas. Inventors work with the patent counsel in drafting the patent applications and responses to patent offices.
Our team will work with the inventor(s) to consider relevant factors in making recommendations about filing patent applications. Based on a recommendations from our licensing specialists, we will ultimately make the final decision as to whether to file a patent application or seek another form of protection.
Our patent counsel will explore filing in foreign countries if there is a significant market or licensee in that country.
Obtaining and maintaining patent protection can be costly, including expenses associated with filing, prosecution, international protection, and ongoing maintenance fees. At the SC, these costs are covered by the University rather than the inventor. When a technology is successfully licensed or otherwise commercialized, USC recoups these patent expenses from resulting license revenue.
Publishing, presenting, or otherwise publicly disclosing your invention may negatively affect the patents rights immediately, and all U.S. patent rights are lost one year after a public disclosure. Most foreign countries have no grace period; that is, publication (or any form of public disclosure) of your invention immediately bars you from obtaining foreign patent rights. Therefore, it is best to file a patent application a public presentation. TCO can work with you to have a provisional patent application quickly so that you may make your presentation while preserving patent rights.