Final Invention and Patent Reporting
Invention disclosure is critically important for all projects, especially where any portion of the funding comes from the federal government, private foundation, or commercial sponsor. Federal law requires prompt disclosure and the University, investigators, and involved companies could lose very significant rights if disclosures are not promptly made.
At the end of a project, most federal sponsors require a final invention statement. The statement requires that ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ disclose either a positive or negative report, depending on whether there was a disclosure of a subject invention during the project.
A subject invention is defined by the Code of Federal Regulations as "any invention of the contractor (grantee) conceived or first actually reduced to practice in the performance of work under the contract (grant)..."
All information reported on the sponsor forms is provided in collaboration with the PI, OGCA and OIPC.
Final invention processes and forms by sponsor:
Department of Defense (DOD)
DOD requires submission of . The form is completed by the PI and to OGCA in collaboration with OIPC. Please include the project number, award number and PI associated with the closeout in the subject line as well as the body of the email.
If there are no invention disclosures to report, the PI will still need to complete a negative report and send it to the OGCA for submission through the or as stated in the award.
Department of Energy (DOE)
DOE requires submission of a Patent Certification Form . The form is completed by the PI and sent to OGCA in collaboration with OPIC. Please include the project number, award number and PI associated with the closeout in the subject line as well as the body of the email.
If there are no invention disclosures to report, the PI will still need to complete a negative report and send it to OGCA to coordinate with OPIC, for submission through the or as stated in the award.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
NASA requires submission of the NASA New Technology Summary Report Form through NASA's . If there are invention disclosures to report, the form is prepared by the PI and sent to OGCA in collaborationwith OPIC. Please include the project number, award number and PI associated with the closeout in the subject line as well as the body of the email. The OGCA can then provide the institutional approval of the Final Invention Statement in NASA's Technology Reporting System.
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
NIH requires submission of Form via . The PI logs into eRA Commons and clicks the Status tab at the top of the screen. The PI selects the "Requires Closeout" hyperlink in the Action column on the award. When the closeout status screen appears, the PI clicks the Process Final Invention Statement hyperlink.
Once the PI has completed the Final Invention Statement Form HHS568 electronically, he/she contacts OGCA and OGCA will coordinate closeout with OPIC. Please include the project number, award number and PI associated with the closeout in the subject line as well as the body of the email.
National Science Foundation (NSF)
NSF requires that grant recipients use the to disclose NSF subject inventions. NSF does not have a standard Final Invention Statement. If you are the PI of an NSF sponsored project and need to make a subject invention disclosure. OGCA, in collaboration with OPIC will review the disclosure and submit via iEdison, as necessary.
In some cases, the hyperlink to the closing NIH project is not available in eRA Commons. In that case, the PI should prepare an HHS568 Final Invention Statement and submit as an electronic attachment to OGCA, if a positive invention statement. If there are no inventions to report, the PI must confirm and forward this confirmation to OGCA.