What to Expect When Working With INVO

Since 2010, Northwestern University’s Innovation and New Ventures Office (INVO) has been helping Northwestern-based inventors usher compelling discoveries into the commercial marketplace. Here’s how:

Step 1: Invention Disclosure Process

The Idea Submission (or Idea Disclosure) Process kicks off an inventor’s commercialization journey and should, at minimum, be completed before any information enters the public sphere. The online form requires basic details, such as names of all who contributed to the idea’s conception, as well as a description of the invention, its marketplace relevance, and its development.

Step 2: Invention Manager Pairing

After disclosure, INVO assigns each inventor an invention manager with a shared technical background. A singular point of contact for inventors, the invention manager guides inventors through the innovation, patent, and partnership process. INVO has invention managers covering the life sciences and engineering/physical sciences.

Invention managers leverage their knowledge, market research reports, external partnerships, and more to assess a discovery’s patentability and commercialization potential while also shepherding inventors through the translation process.

Step 3: The Patent Application

When ready, the invention manager will engage outside counsel to prepare and submit the provisional patent application for the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Thereafter, INVO has one year to create and file a non-provisional patent application.

Inventors do not write the patent but rather provide INVO the necessary data to build the application. INVO spearheads the patent application process, which is often lengthy, nuanced, and involves considerable back and forth with the USPTO.

Step 4: Engage Translational Partners

As the patent application winds through USPTO, invention managers begin investigating potential partners and marketing the technology. This includes posting a non-confidential summary of the discovery on the INVO website, creating marketing materials, and presenting the technology to potential partners at meetings and conferences. In collaboration with inventors, invention managers will also help determine if the technology is best optioned or licensed to an existing company or used as the foundation for a startup.

Step 5: Continue the Translation Journey

INVO will continue to support inventors and remain a collaborative ally – even after a patent is secured. INVO oversees agreements with existing companies, including compliance and enforcement. For startups, it provides additional resources to propel development, such as entrepreneurial training, funding, and residencies at the Querrey InQbation Lab.