In order to facilitate the protection of intellectual property discovered or developed by University of Mississippi employees, the Division of Technology Management has established a procedure by which investigators may disclose potential patentable inventions.
Principal investigators, group coordinators, or project team leaders should take the initiative in reporting a potentially commercializable invention or discovery (intellectual property). Early stage discoveries that appear to be commercially viable can be discussed with Division of Technology Management staff on a confidential basis to help investigators determine appropriate steps toward further development before a formal Research Disclosure is filed. This is particularly critical if publication or a presentation of the research is planned and/or if a thesis or dissertation is involved.
Once it is determined that a patentable invention may exist, the principal investigator, group coordinator or project team leader will be requested to complete a Research Disclosure Form, which provides detailed information that is needed to come to a full determination of patentability and commercial potential of the technology. Signed Research Disclosure Forms describing a potential invention should be forwarded to the Division of Technology Management (1007 Thad Cochran Research Center) to initiate the review process. A draft for publication can be attached to the form so that every field in the form does not have to be filled in its entirety.
The process followed to review Research Disclosures is shown on the Research Disclosure Flow Chart.