You've got something. Now test the opportunity.
Support spans IP protection, proof-of-concept funding, industry connections, licensing and spinouts. The first step is a conversation.
There's no single route from research to impact.
The route depends on the problem. Hover or tap a route to see what the TTO does on it.
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Licence to a company
A company that already serves the market takes the technology on. You keep researching; you share in the revenue.
The TTO on this route: pressure-test the opportunity.
The journey, in seven steps.
Scroll through it. Nothing here requires a finished plan.
Get in touch
You talk to the TTO Officer. A conversation, not a form, is the first step.
The journey, in seven steps.
Scroll through it. Nothing here requires a finished plan.
Get in touch
You talk to the TTO Officer. A conversation, not a form, is the first step.
Disclose
Submit the Invention Disclosure Form. It is confidential.
Evaluate
Prior art, market, patentability. The IP Committee decides whether and how to protect, and you hear the reasons.
Protect
LAU files the priority application through external IP counsel and pays for it.
Develop
More proof is usually needed. That work happens in your school, with the Industrial Hub when a prototype helps, and with LAU Engine when the route is a company.
Transfer
A licence to a company that will bring it to market, or a spinout built with LAU Engine.
Share
If the technology earns revenue, you share in it under the Intellectual Property Policy.
Ownership and revenue sharing follow LAU's Intellectual Property Policy, explained on the Understanding IP page.
Questions, answered.
[1]When should I talk to the TTO?
As soon as you think a result might be useful outside your lab, and always before you publish, present or post about it.
[2]Does talking to you mean I have to file a patent?
No. Many disclosures lead to software licences, know-how agreements or simply a documented decision not to protect.
[3]What if I've already published or presented it?
Tell us the dates. Some jurisdictions allow a grace period, and software and know-how can still be protected.
[4]What happens after I disclose an invention?
The TTO acknowledges it, meets you to understand the invention and your timeline, runs a prior-art and market review, and brings it to the IP Committee for a protection decision.
[5]What if the work involves people or organisations outside LAU?
Sponsored research and collaboration agreements set the terms. Share the agreements with the TTO and we'll map who owns what.
[6]What if more work is needed before the research is ready?
That is the normal case. The Develop step exists for it: proof-of-concept funding, Industrial Hub prototyping and LAU Engine programmes.
Take the first step.
You don't need a finished plan. A disclosure gives the office enough context for a useful first conversation.