Disclosure
If you are new to this process or have questions whether or not your work is a new invention, please feel free to contact our office directly for assistance. Send an email with your name, position at Duke, and an overview of the field of your work to enable us to have the Invention Manager to get back to you.
The IDF form is an important first step in the process of documenting your invention. It is a confidential document in which you should provide both a summary of your ideas and a comprehensive description of the invention and what, in anything, has been done so far to reduce the invention to practice (i.e. to show that it works!). The IDF also creates a channel for OLV to contact you to initiate the next steps needed to manage your invention.
Please note that the submission of an invention disclosure IDF is not a patent application and does not mean a patent application will necessarily be filed. An Invention Manager will be in touch with you after the IDF reaches our office to discuss our process of evaluation towards patenting.
Submission
IDFs should be submitted at least three months prior to a public disclosure of the invention and are designed to be self-explanatory; however, feel free to contact the OLV if you have questions.
In submitting an IDF form, you will be prompted to provide a list of inventors, funding sources, sources of materials, and a description of the technology. Often inventors include drafts of manuscripts to enhance the technological description. Submission should be made through the department head and requires the department head’s signature, as well as signatures from all of the inventors.
While it is preferential to file an IDF prior to a public disclosure, if you have disclosed the invention in a public forum, we encourage you to submit an IDF anyway. U.S. rights may still be obtained and/or your invention may still have commercial applications and value.
Public disclosures can include: abstracts, publications, reports submitted to granting agencies, presentations, theses and thesis defense seminars, and the like. If a public disclosure has been made or is pending, that information should be included in the IDF, and you may want to note it in a cover letter.
If you are unsure as to how to proceed, please feel free to contact our office and speak to someone directly.
Timelines
Upon receipt of an IDF, a licensing manager in OLV will contact you within three weeks to discuss the invention and begin the assessment phase.
Government Notification
Because government sponsors require notification of inventions, OLV will work with you to notify appropriate parties.
If you have any questions about when to submit an IDF, contact us.