Prompt disclosure of intellectual property is necessary for effective protection and transfer of the technology. Disclosure is essential to protect potential patent rights and is a firm requirement of U.S. federal law when any federal money has been used to support the research. Disclosure is made using an Invention Disclosure Form.
Inventors must use an Invention Disclosure Form to provide necessary information, such as the source of funding, date of impending or issued publications, identity of all inventors, existence of records describing the invention, etc. If difficulty in obtaining this information is encountered or time pressures interfere, the Director of Research, can assist in the process. Please send an email to grants@nku.edu with “Intellectual Property Inquiry” in the subject line.
The Office of Research, Grants & Contracts has the responsibility to inform the sponsors of the occurrence of inventions under a research contract and to protect potential patent rights.
Inventors should also indicate any special information or desires at the time of disclosure. For instance, collaborations with non-Northern Kentucky University colleagues or interest expressed by industrial scientists should be reported.
It may also be possible for inventors with an entrepreneurial spirit to commercialize their own technologies. However, an Invention Disclosure Form must be filled out in all cases where an invention is identified, and any interest in self-promotion of the invention should be brought to the attention of the Office of Research, Grants & Contracts via an email to grants@nku.edu.
Note: the information in a disclosure form is confidential.
Copies of the disclosure form should not be sent to anyone (other than your
department head, if requested), not even to sponsors of the research.
To grow the commonwealth’s tech sector, Kentucky Commercialization Ventures (KCV) provides the tools and expertise to translate innovations, research findings and intellectual property into market-ready products, services and job-creating startups.
At its core, KCV focuses on commercializing the best ideas from Kentucky’s public universities and colleges. Those very institutions are KCV partners and hotbeds for Kentucky’s innovative research and development. KCV also serves as a commercialization resource for individual entrepreneurs and companies seeking to establish and grow their businesses in Kentucky.
No other state’s commercialization program combines the strength of all its public higher education institutions. That makes KCV unique and better positioned to compete for federal grants that support forward-thinking companies and entrepreneurs.
In bringing innovations to market and tech companies to life, KCV will advance Kentucky’s knowledge-based economy, create high-wage jobs and make the state additionally attractive to high-potential researchers, entrepreneurs, students and innovators in the long term.
If you have an innovative idea that you think fits with the KCV mission, get in touch:
Kentucky Commercialization Ventures
Caroline Stivers
Operations Manager
caroline@kycommercializationventures.com
General questions about KCV?
Website: https://www.kycommercializationventures.com/about
Email: kcv@kstc.com
Northern Kentucky University
100 Nunn Drive, UC 405
Highland Heights, KY 41099
(859) 572-5136
