Disclose an Invention

Stanford faculty, staff and students can submit an Invention Disclosure through the Researcher Portal on the Office of Technology Licensing (OTL) website. The disclosure should fully describe the new aspects of the invention, including the critical solution it provides and its advantages and benefits over current technologies.

To preserve patent rights, inventors should disclose inventions before publications (e.g., conference abstracts, manuscripts, etc.) or presentations describing the invention are publicly available. Shortly after the Invention Disclosure is submitted, an OTL licensing manager will contact the inventor(s) to discuss the invention and its commercial potential.

OTL logs in all disclosures it receives, assigns a docket number, and assigns each one to a specific licensing manager, who is then responsible for all actions relating to the docket. An OTL licensing manager will meet with the inventor(s) to discuss the invention and make a preliminary evaluation of novelty, potential commercial applications, and possible markets.