Our Services

The services of the UJTTO come at no cost to staff and students of the university and include:

• IP awareness and training workshops
• Support on all matters related to IP management (statutory and policy support, IP identification, IP evaluation and registration, IP ownership and access disputes, as well as litigation)
• Commercialisation support (IP registration, commercial assessment, market assessment, license initiation, negotiation and conclusion, identifying route-to-market, exit planning)
• Contract drafting
• Spin-out and incubation support
• Technology marketing
• Royalty income management
• Support in contract IP matters such as Collaboration Agreements, Consultancy Agreements, Licensing Agreements, IP Agreements, Material Transfer Agreements, Non-Disclosure Agreements and Research Agreements)
• Partner search and industry liaison
• Innovation Ecosystem development
• Fund-raising support

The UJTTO’s IP Protection and Commercialisation Strategy Process is captured in the below infographic.

From the UJTTO process infographic:

FIRST ENGAGEMENT WITH THE UJTTO

In order to allow the transfer of a new technology to the market, inventors must disclose their inventions to the UJTTO. This helps:

• Define the invention
• Determine the invention novelty, inventiveness and application (usefulness)
• Define the inventors (internal and external), which is a legal requirement, and confirms the beneficiaries of the share of proceeds from the commercialisation of the IP
• Identify external partners (which may include funders who have expectations)
• Establish key events (e.g. date of discovery, publication date – to determine if novelty has been destroyed)

In order to make such a disclosure, the inventor completes an invention disclosure form on the Inteum℠ platform and submits it to the UJTTO, which consists of a written description of the invention clearly describing its novelty and commercial potential. To access the Inventor Portal, click on the following link:

EVALUATION OF THE INVENTION DISCLOSURE AND IP RIGHTS PROTECTION APPLICATION PROCESS

Following the disclosure of the invention, the UJTTO evaluates its potential and establishes an IP protection and development strategy. The evaluation includes:

• determination of patentability based on
  • novelty (different from prior art)
  • inventiveness (non-obvious to those in the field)
  • usefulness (has an application)
  • reproducible
• establishment of economic and social potential
• identification of limitations (third party expectations, such as commercialisation rights)
• suggestion of possible routes to market

The evaluation of the invention disclosure may or may not lead to protection thereof.

Where there is the potential to register IP such as a Patent, Design, Trademarks or Plant Breeders’ Rights, or package the IP as Trade Secret, the UJTTO enlists the services of Intellectual Property law firms. In the case of Copyright protection, the UJ IP Policy is adhered to.