INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE NOTIFICATION OF EMPLOYEE INVENTIONS
In accordance with the Rules on industrial property rights management at the University of Maribor (hereinafter referred to as ”UM Rules”) employees at the University of Maribor (hereinafter referred to as ”UM”) are required to notify in an appropriate manner their employer of inventions, which are discovered or created on the basis of employment at UM.
Before submitting the documentation (e.g. digest, article or monograph) for publication or public presentation or disclosure of the invention to third parties you are advised to consult the professionals of UM Technology Transfer Office, because every unauthorized disclosure could seriously jeopardize the patent protection or protection of the invention with other industrial property right. Early and complete disclosure to UM and UM Technology Transfer Office is therefore crucial. Despite or because of this, the notification of invention may also be supplemented at a later time.
Duly completed invention disclosure form serves as a written notification of invention to UM and UM Technology Transfer Office and contains all the information needed for the decision to acquire the employee invention. The information provided on the form is used by the UM Technology Transfer Office for the purposes of (1) determining the ownership of existing intellectual property rights and the existence of any rights and obligations of third parties (e.g. students and external collaborators as well as partners from the industry and investors), (2) assessing the potential of the invention for protection and commercialization, and (3) providing the most appropriate support and services to you. At the same time, the disclosed information enables the recording of existing intellectual property of UM and UM cooperation with the industry, and monitoring the resulting contractual obligations and validity of industrial property rights of UM.
All invention disclosure forms at UM are reviewed by the UM Technology Transfer Office professionals. In case UM finances the costs of the invention acquisition procedure entirely or in a limited extent, UM informs the inventor whether it will acquire the invention within three months from receipt of the form at the latest. The decision by the Rector of UM is taken on the basis of the opinion of the Committee, composed of a representative of the university member, from which the primary inventor is coming from, a representative representing the relevant scientific discipline and a representative of the UM Technology Transfer Office. In case the costs of the invention acquisition procedure are entirely financed by the inventor, UM acquires the invention without prior opinion of the Committee.
UM Technology Transfer Office will use its best efforts to find suitable partners for further development and commercialization of the acquired inventions. In accordance with the UM Rules, all income generated in the commercial exploitation of the acquired inventions is distributed among (1) inventors, (2) university member(s) and the research group(s) which created the invention, and (3) UM and Rector’s fund. Due to the need of naming all inventors on potential patent applications and ensuring a fair sharing of incomes from the commercial exploitation of inventions, all persons who in any way contributed to the creation of the invention must be listed in the form.
The completion of this confidential form is the first step to acquisition, protection and commercialization of your invention. So, we kindly ask you to consistently answer all questions. The absence of information and inconsistencies in the form lead to further clarifications and amendments, which the UM Technology Transfer Office is obliged to request. This also slows down the process of commercialization and delays the start of receiving income from the commercialization. In case of doubt or difficulties in completing the form, we advise you to turn for help to the UM Technology Transfer Office professionals.
Any communication between you and the professional staff of UM and UM Technology Transfer Office is confidential as all persons who learn about the invention in the assessment process of the acquisition procedure are obliged to keep it secret and must not exploit this knowledge and disclose it without explicit written consent of all inventors and UM. For the purpose of disclosing inventions to third parties we recommend the use of nondisclosure agreement. For assistance in the preparation of such an agreement you can turn for help to the UM Technology Transfer Office professionals.
For additional information on completing this form please contact the UM Technology Transfer Office, TehnoCenter at the University of Maribor, either by phone at +386 2 2355 344, by email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit us at Krekova ulica 2 in Maribor (1st floor).