Instructions for Handling the Form

Note that you cannot submit forms directly over the Internet or via email because your signature is required.

Instructions for Filling Out the Form

If your invention involves two or more inventors, please also print and fill out the Income Distribution Agreement Form.

Send completed forms to:

General Information

A disclosure form must be prepared and submitted for each invention conceived or first actually reduced to practice pursuant to University of California Patent Policy. A disclosure form should be prepared and submitted when something new and useful has been conceived or developed, or when unusual, unexpected, or otherwise non-obvious research results have been achieved that have utility.

An invention is a novel and useful idea relating to processes, machines, manufactures, and compositions of matter. It may cover such things as new or improved devices, circuits, systems, chemical compounds, drugs, etc. To be patentable, the invention must not be obvious to a worker with the average skills in that particular technology. In addition, it must not have been used by others in this country, or patented or described in printed publication anywhere, prior to the date of conception

Please have the written record of the work that resulted in the invention signed and dated by the inventor, and witnessed and dated by a non-inventor scientist. The written record may be lab notebooks, ideas book, correspondence, etc.

The purpose of the disclosure form is to record what was invented and the circumstances under which the invention was made. It provides the basis for a determination of patentability and the data for drafting a patent application. It is a legally important document which should be read carefully before you sign it. Distribution of copies of a disclosure form to third parties is expressly prohibited, however, the technical description provided on the disclosure form is sometimes shared with prospective licensees with a confidentiality agreement.

Although each invention begins as an idea, the inventor should demonstrate feasibility by reducing the idea to practice with experimental data and/or working prototypes. In general, an invention that is prophetic in nature should be further developed by the investigator(s) before it is submitted. The OTM uses material evidence that provides proof-of-concept as a major factor in deciding whether to file a patent application and market the technology for licensing. Senior OTM staff are always available to talk with investigators about their specific cases and advise investigators about the appropriateness and timing of filing a disclosure.

A US patent application must be filed no later than one year after public disclosure. In most other countries, filing must take place before public disclosure.

For more information about patents, copyrights, procedures, and policies, see: UC Policies on Copyrights and Patents, and Working with OTM