Technology Transfer

FOR UMSL RESEARCHERS: PUBLISHING AND PUBLIC DISCLOSURE

The publishing and public disclosure of patentable inventions does two things:

Prevents you from being able to file for foreign patent applications in many countries
Begins a one-year grace period in which you must file for a US patent. If more than one year has passed since you published an invention, you have lost all patent rights.

It is important to remember that seeking a patent does not preclude publication of research results, and, in most cases, does not delay publishing. However, to retain the potential for foreign patents, a U.S. patent application must be filed before any description of the invention is publicly disclosed.

To find out if your discovery should be patented, contact the ORA. Technology transfer staff will work with outside patent attorneys to accommodate your publication dates. Best results are achieved, however, if you submit your invention disclosure to the University at least three months prior to the first public disclosure. This allows time to assess both patentability and commercial potential and to draft a patent application to protect rights to your invention.

Examples of public disclosure and when they are considered “published”:

Publications in journals, books, etc.
The day the journal is mailed out from the printer

Abstracts for meetings
The day the book of abstracts is mailed from the printer

Handouts given out during a poster presentation or oral presentation
The day they are handed out

Dissertations and Theses
The day they are placed on the library shelves

Publications on the Internet
The day they are sent out/posted

Posters and Oral presentations at meetings, including seminars given at UMSL that are open to the public
The day presented

Progress reports to industry sponsors (when not covered by a confidentiality agreement between The Curators of the University of Missouri and the company/companies involved)

Federally funded grant abstracts (When grants are funded, US government agencies may post all or parts of the title and abstract of the proposal on the Internet. Keep key concepts for a patent out of the title and abstract of all proposals.)

The following are NOT public disclosures:

Presentations at departmental meetings (if not open to the public)
Presentations at Interdepartmental meetings (if not open to the public)
Grant proposals (but mark sections that are confidential)

See Technology Transfer FAQs for more information on publishing and public disclosure