Jefferson Lab > Technology Transfer
Privacy and Security Notice

Invention Process — From Idea to Patent to Royalties

Step 1: You get an idea for an invention. Write it down!
Step 2: A. Fill out the Jefferson Lab Invention Disclosure Form, including signing and dating it yourself.

B. Get two people to read and sign that they have read and understood your invention as disclosed on the form.

C. Submit the completed form to the Technology Review Committee. Any member of that committee will be happy to help you if you have questions about the form or process

D. Be patient and work closely with the Committee. Be Careful - Do not talk to companies about making your product before involving the Committee. YOU COULD LOSE BOTH YOUR AND OUR RIGHTS TO THE INVENTION!

Step 3: The Invention Review Committee meets quarterly (or more often if needed) to evaluate every disclosure. The committee can:
  1. Authorize a Patentability Review to be conducted by SURA's outside patent counsel, or
  2. Request more information from the inventor(s).
  3. Formally return the disclosure to the inventor(s), at which point SURA relinquishes all rights to the invention. The inventor(s) are then free to pursue the invention.
Step 4: The Committee authorizes SURA's outside patent counsel to apply for a patent, based on a favorable patentability review (i.e., the invention might be patentable). If the patentability review is unfavorable, the Committee probably would exercise either step 3b or 3c above.

Step 5: It may take a year or more before the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) rejects or accepts the application. If the application is approved, a "Notice of Allowance" is issued, which means the invention is patented. A $500 cash award is granted by SURA to the inventor(s) of each patent awarded by the Patent Office. (If the patent application is rejected, SURA, through the Committee, may accept the ruling, appeal the ruling, or work with the inventor(s) to improve the application for a re-application.

Step 6: All Jefferson Lab inventions are owned by SURA and are available for licensing by private companies. A license gives a company the right to manufacture and sell the product for a portion of the profits (royalties). When a patent is licensed, SURA and the inventor(s) share the resulting royalties on a 50-50 basis.

For more information about Intellectual Property and Inventions, please see the Jefferson Lab Employee Handbook, the Jefferson Lab Administrative Manual, or any member of the Technology Review Committee.