Invention Disclosure Process
The technology transfer process begins in the University when the research investigator or creator identifies a discovery or innovation which he or she believes may have potential for commercial development.
The first formal step in the process occurs when an inventor or creator submits a disclosure form describing the innovation. The Disclosure Form Section below addresses the key points and instructions for accessing and submitting your invention disclosure.
With the online disclosure form, University inventors alert the Technology Management and Commercialization (OTMC) that they have made an invention: some apparatus, process, or composition of matter (including a living organism) that is useful and distinctly different from anything previously known.
After receipt of a complete disclosure form, an assessment of the invention’s technical and marketing potential is conducted.
Instructions to access and submit the invention disclosure form
1. Click on the link below to access the online disclosure form:
2. Log in with your FIU credentials.
3. Once you are logged in, click on “New Disclosure” in the Tasks box that should be on the right of the screen.
4. Go through all the questions. Please note that for reporting purposes we are requesting the Panther ID and department of FIU disclosure researcher(s).
5. Click “Submit for Approval”
6. Log out.
Additional Information
- The submission of a complete invention disclosure to the OTMC does not provide legal protection of the innovation. You should complete and submit your disclosure as soon as possible so a review of the invention can be conducted and a decision on the potential protection of the invention can be made.
- Submitting an invention disclosure to the OTMC does not constitute a public disclosure. Common examples of public disclosure include publications, electronic publications of articles, thesis and conference abstracts, seminar presentations, thesis presentations, poster sessions, news stories, sales, offers for sale, public uses, and any presentations that are open to the public.
- Once a disclosure # is assigned (it should look like that: D2021-00XX and will appear on the top left of the online disclosure page), you can leave the page and come back to update it from any computer without losing the information entered.
- Only clicking on “submit for approval” finalizes the disclosure, not “Submit”.
- An “Approved Status” does not mean that a patent application has been filed or will be filed; it means that the submitted disclosure meets the formality requirements and is under review by the OTMC.
- Once an online disclosure has been approved by the OTMC, an invention # is assigned to the record (2021-0XX), and the disclosure # becomes obsolete.
- For a disclosure listing multiple inventors, only the submitting inventor will be able to update the disclosure and submit it for review. So if one person start the disclosure process using his/her FIU credential, another person won’t be able to update the disclosure form if he/she logs in with his/her own FIU credential. Once the disclosure has been approved by our office, the disclosure information will be viewable and accessible to all listed inventors.
Need Assistance?
The Technology Management and Commercialization (TMC) assists FIU faculty, staff and students with all phases of intellectual property protection and commercialization of technology. The Office of Technology Management can be reached at (305) 348-0008.