WSU Ventures, an arm of the university that assists with patenting and commercializing inventions or software, has sharply increased the number of invention disclosures by university faculty, staff and students in the last three years.
Invention disclosures are formal written explanations by university researchers on why their invention should receive patent protection, said WSU Ventures Director Cindy Claycomb. They are key precursors to patents.
In the year ending June 30, 2013, there were 16 invention disclosures by faculty, staff and students, she said. That rose to 22 last year, and 41 in the year ending June 30. WSU Ventures was formed 18 months ago.
Claycomb said she spent a lot of time in the last year talking to faculty and classes about the opportunity to patent their research.
“What I think it means is that because we brought this to the forefront, more people on campus are now thinking, ‘I might have something that is of interest to somebody that is marketable or commercial’ and many of them hadn’t thought that way before,” Claycomb said.
She said many didn’t appreciate that it doesn’t have to be a gadget. Their software or curriculum tool may be considered intellectual property that needs to be legally protected from competitors.
After the disclosure agreement, WSU Ventures staff makes a decision on its value and uniqueness and may file a provision patent. That gives them a year to seek a full patent.
Increasing the amount of university-produced technology used by business is an important pillar of WSU’s economic development efforts. WSU has only had four patents issued in the last three years, but Claycomb hopes that will improve in the future, according to the Patent and Trademark Office.
National statistics show that about half of disclosures lead to some kind of patent activity, she said.
The increase was pretty steep, Claycomb said.
“Obviously, there was some pent-up demand,” she said. “I’m asked if next year will we see this kind of increase again? The answer is I don’t know.”
Claycomb will leave her position as head of WSU Ventures on Jan. 4 to assist President John Bardo on strategic planning. Mark Torline, director of WSU’s Center for Entrepreneurship, will take over her duties.
©2015 The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kan.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
