Inventions are easy to define but can be difficult to recognize. An invention is "the discovery or creation of a new material (either a new manufactured product or a new composition or matter), a new process, a new use for an existing material, or any improvements of any of these."

Computer software is also classified as an invention and is handled by the Office of Technology Management and Commercialization. Some University research projects are clearly oriented toward invention from the outset. For example, a project may be to develop an alloy not previously produced, or it may be to find a new test for AIDS. If the research is successful, the result is likely to be an invention.

Inventions through research

In other University research, an invention may or may not be a likely result. For example, a study of the effects of radiation on plant growth might identify previously unknown effects, but this new knowledge, while valuable and publishable, is not necessarily an invention. However, while studying the radiation effects, if you discovered that a particular radiation frequency applied at a particular period of plant gestation increased the size of the mature plant by an average of five percent, this could lead to an invention. The technological process of applying that particular radiation at that particular moment in a plant's life could be an invention.

It can sometimes be very difficult to identify which part of a complex research effort might constitute an invention. Frequently, new tools or processes are developed to meet a particular research objective but are overlooked once the objective is reached. The tools themselves may constitute valuable inventions. To avoid overlooking inventions, err on the side of inclusion.

TCO helps researchers

Researchers should contact the Technology & Commercialization Office and let the office staff secure a professional evaluation if any development from a project seems remotely novel. If no private company has yet expressed an interest, the TCO attempts to locate one to which a license to the technology can be given.

If you think you have an idea or invention, notify the TCO.