Guide to Technology Commercialization

 
 

When your research has generated a new invention that you want to protect or commercialize—or even if you are not sure whether your idea merits this step yet—we encourage you to contact GW’s Technology Commercialization Office (TCO). We’re here to answer your questions and guide you through the process.

Before you publish or present, send us your idea!
 

 

 

Research

 

Through the course of your research, you may arrive at an idea or develop a solution to a problem. This is intellectual property that may be protectable by patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets or contracts. A patentable invention can include a machine, process, article of manufacture, composition of matter or an improvement on any of these. It must also be novel, not obvious and clearly and definitively belong to you. 

 

 

Contact

 

It is critical that you involve our office as early as possible to protect your invention. Before making your invention or discovery public (e.g. presenting at a conference, publishing an article), we encourage you to contact us first. Such “public disclosures” can forfeit the right to apply for patents. Grant abstracts are also published when grants are awarded, so try not to describe your solution to a problem in the abstract and do contact TCO when you submit a grant with an invention described. We can advise you on whether to submit an invention submission form and help determine things like inventorship when multiple researchers may have contributed to an invention. 

 

 

Submit

 

Protect your intellectual property by submitting your invention through the GW Inventor Portal (enter via single sign-on). We will evaluate your invention or discovery. The process is simple and confidential. Learn more about this process on our Submit Your Invention page..

 

 

Evaluation

 

To evaluate your invention, we will need your invention disclosure form, relevant manuscripts, experimental data and/or poster presentations. Our office will perform a patent search and a literature search to determine novelty, conduct market research to determine commercial viability, and identify potential licensing partners.

 

 

IP Protection

 

If your invention is patentable and has potential to become a product or service, we will work with you to file a patent application. We will also help you define your invention as a patent, copyright, trademark or trade secret. During this phase, we work with patent lawyers and cover the cost of filing your patent application.  Please visit our Understanding Patents page  to learn more about patent types, application types and common patent terms.

 

 

Marketing

 

Once your patent application is filed, our office will conduct market research and identify companies and entrepreneurs that can help bring the invention to market. During this period, it’s important that you are available and willing to meet with prospective licensees to explain your invention. Sometimes it can take months or even years to identify licensees.

 

 

Licensing

 

Licensing is the foundation of TCO's relationship with companies. A license provides rights for a company to use GW-owned intellectual property for commercial purposes in exchange for various forms of remuneration, without relinquishing ownership of the GW invention. GW may grant an exclusive or a non-exclusive license, depending on the company's needs. In both cases, GW retains the right to use and develop the invention for research and teaching purposes. Under the licensing agreement, the licensee commits to bringing the technology and products to the marketplace. Visit our Licensing Process page to learn the steps involved.  

 

 

Commercialization

 

The company that licensed the technology invests in developing it into a product and/or service for the market. Getting to market can include technical development, business model development, regulatory approvals, manufacturing, financing, marketing and sales, training, and other activities. A portion of licensing revenues received by GW are distributed to inventors, as well as to their departments and schools. These revenues can fund additional research and encourage further participation in the technology commercialization process. Other licensing revenues are reinvested in advancing research and development of GW inventions by the TCO. Visit the GW Policies page to learn more about license income distribution.

TCO helps you through all the steps of the technology commercialization process. Your responsibility throughout the whole process is to continue to update our office on the progress of your research.

 

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GW Policies

Learn the university’s policies governing IP ownership and management.