Faculty who have invented, created, or discovered a useful product or service should contact the Office of Economic Development at 702-895-5200 for more information on the process of protecting and commercializing discoveries.
It should be noted that inventions discovered by 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ faculty/staff (or those who have used substantial university resources) must be disclosed to the university. Invention disclosures are submitted online through the Office of Economic Development Inventor Portal.
More about Technology Development and Transfer
- Faculty and staff should not wait until after they have pursued any publication of their research to discuss their intellectual property with the Office of Economic Development. Publication may affect the university’s ability to secure patent protection for intellectual property, and new university patent procedures offer the office staff ways to help on short notice, if necessary.
- Publishing without first filing patents often guarantees that a discovery will be ignored by industry. This is because commercialization is such a costly and complex endeavor that even the “perfect” business partner will hesitate to be the first to make or market a product that is already available in the public domain.
- Most researchers underestimate the value of their inventiveness. They tend to dismiss their own inventions as trivial or obvious, thereby overlooking great potential. Fortunately, the realities of patents, copyrights, trade secrets, and other forms of intellectual property protection allow distinctions to be made between the old and the new. The staff of the Office of Economic Development will help determine the potential of the given intellectual property. The staff can also help identify ways in which an invention or discovery can be turned into a profitable product and service.
Additional information for inventors is available in the university’s Intellectual Property Policy.