Intellectual Property in Academia : A Practical Guide for Scientists and Engineers

This book provides a practical understanding of intellectual property basics relevant in an academic environment. It describes the process of performing a comprehensive prior art search, determining business value, filing for a patent, licensing to companies, and using follow-up patents to create a valuable portfolio. The text also covers starting a new business and recent changes in patent application procedures. A special chapter addresses issues in copyright law relevant to academics, such as determining what is copyrightable in reporting an industry-sponsored project.

Given the increasing role of intellectual property (IP) in academic research, it is important for academic scientists to gain greater awareness and knowledge of the various issues involved with IP resulting from their research and inventions. In addition, the line between academic and industrial research has been blurred, and a large amount of crossover exists due to corporate funding of academic research and collaborations between company and university laboratories. These and other factors have complicated the push toward technology transfer in universities. As commercialization has become inseparable from university research, there is now an essential need for academics to have a greater understanding of the processes involved. Intellectual Property in Academia: A Practical Guide for Scientists and Engineers fills this need, providing an indispensable source of information for researchers in academia.

You’ve Just Invented a Gadget – What Now?

Written by a select team of IP professionals, most of whom also have years of experience as scientists, this volume addresses IP issues relevant to the academic community—including ways to efficiently deal with the structural constraints inherent in the university environment. Scientists and engineers will benefit from the authors’ insights and their advice on how to establish good communication with university Offices of Technology Transfer. This perspective affords a common language and facilitates a smoother path through IP procedures. The book covers the best approaches to determine invention novelty by prior art searching and gives step-by-step guidance in using the best modern electronic patent databases. It presents a unique practical approach for assessing the monetary value of ideas and provides software for invention valuation, which can be used even during the early stages of an invention’s development. The book also discusses invention ownership, which is a crucial issue for scientists employed by universities.

Get Answers to Your Questions about the Steps in Invention Commercialization

Taking a more comprehensive approach than a basic how-to book on patent law, this reference answers inventors’ frequently asked questions about employment legislation as well as business and market estimation, invention priority registration, and other necessary steps for the successful commercialization of university inventions. It presents encouraging examples of academic patent successes, describing both the right moves and common mistakes made by scientists. It also provides practical advice on patent writing, filing, and prosecution, useful for both academic and industrial researchers. Other key topics addressed by the text include using copyrighted material, protecting material with copyrights, crucial IP legislation, business models, and new trends and changes in the U.S. patent office. In short, readers will find that this book provides a pathway for easing their journey through the IP process.