Disclosure of Invention (Dofi)

Disclosure of Invention (Dofi)

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION (DOFI)

Confidential

Under Norwegian law (i.e.ArbeidstakeroppfinnelseslovenandUniversitets- oghøgskoleloven) and the University of Agder´s internal Guidelines for innovation, all employees at UiA are required to give UiA Nyskaping written notice and information about patentable inventions with no delay after the invention is made. This obligation applies whether a patent application is subsequently filed or not, and irrespective of the commercial potential of the invention.

The purpose of this Disclosure of Invention form is to provide a template for faculty and staff at UiA to capture and convey all relevant information on an invention to UiA Nyskaping – with the overall objective to:

  • Fulfil requirements under Norwegian law;
  • Obtain a precise description of the invention;
  • Establish correct inventorship;
  • Determine legal ownership to the intellectual property;
  • Evaluate the patentability of the invention; and
  • Assess the commercial potential of the invention.

This form may be printed and filled in by hand, or it may be processed electronically. Please feel free to provide additional information in attachments or by expanding the appropriate sections of the form. The team at UiA Nyskaping is able, willing and eager to discuss your invention with you, and we will be more than happy to assist you in filling in the DOFI. If you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate in contacting:

Kristina Walker-Nordlöf

Phone: +47 40 46 65 98

E-mail:

Please send the completed or draft DOFI, with all attachments, by e-mail or otherwise to:

UiA Nyskaping
Gimlemoen 25

4333 Kristiansand

After submitting a DOFI, or initiating any contact with UiA Nyskaping, a commercialization advisor will contact you within 3-4 working days to discuss your invention and together with you determine how to proceed.

All employees of UiA Nyskaping are under strict confidentially agreements as part of their employment, so feel free to discuss any details of your invention with us. The DOFI itself, all its contents, and all communication between inventor(s) and UiA Nyskaping must be accurate and kept confidential with regard to any third party, unless it is explicitly decided to release information.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Regards,

-UiA Nyskaping

-

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

1 THE INVENTOR(S)

The concept of inventorship has a strict legal definition. In order to obtain a valid patent, ALL inventors and ONLY those who have conceived of or significantly contributed to the invention, MUST be named as inventor(s)! Please note that this is DIFFERENT from naming authors and co-authors on a scientific publication. If there is any doubt whether an individual – be it a faculty member, a researcher or a student – affiliated with UiA or a third party – qualifies as an inventor, that person’s name and affiliation should be included in the DOFI and UiA Nyskaping will subsequently have a patent attorney make the final determination of inventorship. For inventions with more than one inventor, the group of inventors is further required to determine, amongst themselves, who will be the Primary inventor, i.e. the inventor with the most significant contribution.

1.1 Primary inventor

Name of Primary Inventor: / Name Name
Title/position at UiA: / Title
Department at UiA: / Department
Phone number(s): / +47 00 000000
E-mail address:
Residential/home address:
Other/external affiliation (if any):
Other relevant information (if any):

1.2 Other contributors and/or co-inventors, including students, if any:

Name: / Affiliation/Department/Company: / Role/Contribution:

2 THE INVENTION

Which problem does the invention intend to solve? How is this problem solved today? What is new with your solution? In reference to existing state of the art technology, how does your invention improve on the present solutions?

2.1 Title of the invention:

<5-10 words>

2.2 Date of the invention:

<Date of first written description, successful experiment, date drawings, or figures – if applicable.>

2.3 Description of the invention:

<A description of the principles of the invention, or potential patent claims.>

2.4 Current status and remaining work:

<Has the invention been reduced to practice and/or is the invention dependent on further research and/or development in order to reach a product/a solution?>

2.5 Previous patents or other intellectual property in proximity to the invention:

<List relevant patent publications and/or results from patent investigations and/or freedom to operate analyses, if any.>

3 THE RESEARCH LEADING UP TO THE INVENTION

In order to accurately determine ownership to the invention, it is necessary to consider the facts pertaining to the research leading up to the invention.

3.1 Funding of the research leading up to the invention:

<Please specify, and please attach copies of relevant documentation, if any.>

3.2 Contribution from UiA to the invention:

<Please give details about personnel, apart from the inventors, and use of infrastructure, laboratories, facilities, materials etc.>

3.3 Other contributions:

<Please give details about personnel, financial contribution, use of facilities or materials or other resources.>

3.4 Third party agreements:

Have any of the inventors, the Department or anybody else signed any agreements (e.g. Non-Disclosure Agreements, Material Transfer Agreements, Collaboration Agreements etc.) with a third party which may have impact on the patenting and/or commercial exploitation of the Invention?

<Please specify and attach copies of all relevant documents.>

4 COMMERCIALISATION

In order to obtain a valid patent it is, in most cases, crucial that public disclosure of an invention does not occur till AFTER an appropriate patent application has been filed. However, according to Norwegian law (Arbeidstakeroppfinnelsesloven § 6), faculty at UiA have the right to publish their invention at any given time, provided that UiA Nyskaping is informed about this, even if this means that patenting is forfeited. Public disclosure includes, but are not limited to, any abstracts and presentation at scientific meetings (including poster sessions) lectures, symposiums, public seminars, scientific publications, PhD/Master thesis, Internet presentation (included are also internal presentations on the web) etc.

4.1 Patenting and publishing.

<Please state your intent and your plan/preferences regarding patenting and publishing, if any.>

4.2 Public disclosure:

<Has the invention been publicly disclosed, i.e. published, presented orally or publicly used?>

4.3 Commercial potential:

<Tentative commercial applications of the invention, if any. Information about the market size and pricing of comparable or competitive technologies etc. is of particular interest!>

4.4 Commercial contacts:

<List companies and company representatives with whom you have discussed this invention with, if any.>

5 DOFI ATTACHMENTS

Attachment 1 (if any):
Attachment 2 (if any):
Attachment 3 (if any):
Attachment ….:
Total number of pages, including attachments:

6 DATE AND SIGNATURE FROM ALL INVENTORS

We, the inventors, individually and collectively, hereby confirm that the information provided
in this Disclosure of Invention is accurate and complete, to the best of our knowledge.
We recognize that importance of keeping this information confidential.
Date of signature: / Kristiansand/Grimstad,
Signature of Primary Inventor:
Signature of co-inventor(s):
Signature of co-inventor(s):
Signature of co-inventor(s):
Signature of co-inventor(s):

7 RECEIPT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT BY UiA Nyskaping

On behalf of UiA Nyskaping, it is hereby confirmed that the invention described
in this Disclosure of Invention has been duly reported and registered.
Date of first communication re this invention:
Date of signing DOFI: / Kristiansand/Grimstad,
UiA Nyskaping project number assigned:
Name of UiA Nyskaping representative:
Signature of UiA Nyskaping representative: