Protecting Intellectual Property (IP)

After evaluating the invention in each of these important areas, the decision to move forward is made by a committee of Innovation & Business Development comprised of New Ventures, Transactions and IP team members. Typically, those ideas with the most commercial potential will be pursued. BIBD works with inventors to determine the best type of protection for each technology. Protection may include patents, copyrights, or other forms of intellectual property protections. Seeking patent protection is costly, approximately $25,000 in the U.S. and $150,000 for other major international markets.  For this reason, UMass Chan Medical School only pursues protection for inventions meeting patentability and commercial criteria.

After deciding to pursue commercialization, the BIBD team will make strategic decisions regarding patenting and other relevant legal protection as appropriate. Patent Protection typically begins by filing a provisional patent application. An external attorney is selected to review your disclosure and analyze prior art. The attorney then works with the inventor to draft the application, a process which can take up to two months.  Prior to expiration of the provisional patent application, 1 year after filing, a U.S. non-provisional application and/or an international patent application will be filed.  If an international patent application is filed, 18 months later, the BRIDGE team will decide in which foreign jurisdictions to seek patent prosecution.  In both the U.S. and other foreign territories, the time to obtain a Patent varies and can take up to eight years from the date of the initial provisional filing.