Invention Disclosure Forms
Why and When should researchers submit an Invention Disclosure Form (IDF)?
Public disclosures (such as publication of a paper, oral or poster presentation at a conference, invited talk, student thesis defense, discussions with non-UTRGV affiliated parties without a non-disclosure agreement in place, etc.) have a negative impact on one’s ability to secure intellectual property (IP) rights. In some cases, IP rights may be irretrievably lost due to a prior public disclosure.
Ideally, the IDF should be submitted to the Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) before any public disclosures of the technology are made. An example of good timing would be submitting your IDF simultaneously with submitting a manuscript for review, rather than submitting the IDF after the paper is published online.
If you are planning to publish or present your technology, please make sure to inform OTC well in advance of any upcoming deadlines. It is very difficult to accommodate last-minute requests.
Submitting an IDF
Please complete the appropriate form to describe the technology you are disclosing, and please complete all items with as much detail as possible,including attaching supporting documents, draft manuscripts, research reports, presentations, etc.
Please complete each section of the document. If certain questions or statements do not apply, please state “N/A” or “None.” *Please note*: our office cannot review incomplete/unsigned IDFs, or materials submitted without this form (e.g., just a copy of a manuscript). We will return such IDFs to you for completion and resubmission.
Invention Disclosure Form for Tangible Material
Invention Disclosure Form for Engineering, Science, and Physics
Invention Disclosure Form for Software
Copyright Disclosure Form for Creative Works (CDF)