Intellectual Property
Take the first step in protecting and commercializing your innovation by submitting a technology disclosure.
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Where discovery has impact
At the University of Louisville, groundbreaking ideas are developed every day—from advanced medical devices and pharmaceuticals to software and creative works. The Innovation & Technology Transfer team partners with researchers to evaluate, protect and position these discoveries for real-world impact.
By securing intellectual property and connecting innovations with industry partners, we help move promising technologies from the lab to the marketplace.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can disclose your potential invention or innovation at any point. The team will work with you to determine what the next steps are and whether it’s protectable.
Yes, there are several types of intellectual property. The most common from UofL research are copyrights and patents, both of which are subject to federal and potentially international protections. Copyright protects “creative” works in a tangible medium, such as software, training guides, or books. Patents protect novel inventions around composition of matter, methods, and processes such as new pharmaceuticals, algorithms, and medical devices.
Under the UofL IP Policy, faculty and staff are required to disclose ideas that were first conceived, discovered, created, or reduced to practice during their employment with the university.
- Recognition for your hard work
- Helping your ideas spread, become commercialized, and benefit the public good
- Financial returns, through royalties and other licensing income
Under the UofL IP Policy, royalties and other income from licensed or optioned inventions are shared between the university and the inventors, discoverers or creators.
Of course! Publishing and sharing your work is key to our mission as a university. However, please get in touch with our staff before you plan to publish or present, so we can determine if your idea is protectable.
After working with Innovation & Technology Transfer to protect your IP, the next step is commercialization. The UofL team will work to find a potential licensing partner to help your idea reach the public.
Sometimes, the best option to move a UofL technology from lab to market is to work with an industry partner. In those cases, a license allows the industry partner to use, develop, and market our protected technologies.
Companies who license our technologies will pay a fee, plus a portion of any income related to sales of our technology. The latter are called royalties, and are shared with inventors. More information on policies on the distribution of licensing income is available here.
An industry partner can be important to the development and marketing of technologies. Industry partners often bring scale, built-in networks, distribution and sales partners, and other infrastructure that can help accelerate the path of UofL's groundbreaking inventions to the marketplace.