A Letter from The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research

OVCR Annual ReportFiscal Year 2011Technology Management & Intellectual PropertyPatent PortfolioWhen OTM decides to pursue patent protection for an invention, a U.S. provisional patentapplication is usually filed. This filing is not actually examined by the Patent Office, but ratherserves to establish a filing date and “patent pending” status for a year. OTM filed provisionalpatent applications for 39 of the 136 invention disclosures received in FY11.After the one year provisional period, OTM will have the opportunity to file or convert theprovisional application into a non-provisional application that will be examined by the patentoffice before being granted. A non-provisional application can be filed in the U.S., with theWorld Intellectual Property Organization as a PCT international application and/or in individualforeign countries. The decision of when and where to file such applications are a part of OTM’smanagement of the University’s IP portfolio. During FY11, OTM filed 28 non-provisionalpatent applications.OTM’s management of the University’s patent portfolio also includes ongoing communicationwith external patent counsel and patent office staff while an application is being examined,maintenance of issued patents, and payment of required fees. To date the OTM manages aportfolio of 621 pending patent applications and 917 issued patents (442 US patents and 475foreign patents). In FY11 the University had 49 patents issued, 26 issued by the US patentoffice and 23 issued by foreign patent offices. In total, OTM invested close to $2M in themanagement of the University patent portfolio in FY11.FY11 FY10 FY09 FY08 FY07Arts & Sciences 10 7 4 3 3Engineering 15 15 20 7 13Medicine 58 54 82 84 59Total 83 76 106 94 75Table 4U.S. Patent Applications by School – FY11 through FY0755