After completing the Export Control section of your proposal, you will be prompted to complete the Intellectual Property section.
These questions are required and your answers will help speed communication and avoid problems that may delay your project.
Management of intellectual property has significant overlap with management of sponsored research. Contractual terms in sponsored research agreements and licensing or material transfer agreements can sometimes conflict. For additional information regarding any of the Intellectual Property questions, please contact your Central Admin office or the Office of Technology Development.
Once you are finished with all of the questions in the Export Control section, click 
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Question List
- Have you disclosed any of this research to the Intellectual Property Office? Disclosure refers to the submission of a Report of Invention (ROI) to the Office of Technology Development. An ROI may lead to the filing of a patent application and may further lead to commercial licensing of the invention, regardless of whether a patent application was filed.
- Does the research in this proposal involve any filed patents? A patent is a federal grant based on an invention, which gives the holder the right to exclude others from making, using, or selling the invention. A patent application gives notice that such rights may arise in the future, however, the right to exclude others begins only when the patent is issued.
- Does the research in this proposal involve any issued patents? Sponsored research projects may contemplate further development of your institution's inventions claimed in a patent or patent application, or patented inventions owned by outside parties may be relevant to the project. Such situations require that your central administration office take care to address these issues appropriately in the sponsored research agreement.
- Will this research use any materials obtained from a third party under a transfer agreement granting ownership rights in inventions and/or data out of the use of the material? A transfer agreement can be a Material Transfer Agreement (MTA), academic or research use license, or any other written agreement under which the researcher has obtained the limited right to use something owned by another entity. Researchers also share materials with outside parties under an MTA or other forms of research use licenses. Should the sponsored research proposal contemplate using materials, data, or software obtained under such an agreement, your central administration office must take care to avoid conflicting obligations between the transfer agreement and the sponsor of the proposed research.
- Will this research use any material, patented or otherwise, which is owned by the institution and licensed to a commercial entity? A license is a written agreement whereby the owner of property grants limited rights in that property to another. A commercial license for tangible property (material) or intellectual property typically grants the right to make, use or sell the property. If an institutional invention is licensed to a commercial entity and is also to be used or further developed in the proposed research, your central administration office must take care to avoid granting rights in that invention to the sponsor.
- Is this proposal a SBIR (Small Business Innovative Research Program)? SBIR is a highly competitive program that encourages small businesses to explore their technological potential and provides the incentive to profit from its commercialization. By including qualified small businesses in the nation's R&D arena, high-tech innovation is stimulated and the United States gains entrepreneurial spirit as it meets its specific research and development needs.
- Is this proposal a STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer Program)? STTR is an important small business program that expands funding opportunities in the federal innovation research and development arena. Central to the program is expansion of the public and private sector partnership to include the joint venture opportunities for small business and the nation's premier nonprofit research institutions. STTR's most important role is to foster the innovation necessary to meet the nation's scientific and technological challenges in the 21st century.