Resources
The tools of the trade
IPX handles all invention-related agreements, forms, and documents, including Nondisclosure/Confidentiality and Material Transfer Agreements. All of this can seem a bit overwhelming; however, IPX is here to help and guide you through the process. Some useful forms and documents are listed below. Contact IPX for assistance.
Forms and Legal Documents
Frequently asked questions
How do I get started?
Simply reach out to us. IPX provides concierge service, guiding our clients – innovators and external partners – through the tech transfer process. Whether you’re interested in filing a patent or licensing technology, we will put you in touch with an expert to meet your specific needs.
What is Tech Transfer?
Auburn faculty, staff, and students develop innovations and conduct research that helps make the world a better place. Technology Transfer is simply the process of moving those ideas from the academy to the marketplace. Often, a university engages in technology transfer through publications, graduating students, faculty service on advisory boards, and other mechanisms. IPX gets involved when the marketplace would be best served by protecting the invention with intellectual property and identifying an external partner willing to invest in the additional R&D efforts needed to bring an early-stage technology to a final product. Offices like IPX primarily exist because of legislation passed in 1980, the Bayh-Dole Act. Bayh-Dole allowed universities and other non-profits and small business recipients of federal research dollars to own the inventions developed with that funding.
What is Intellectual Property?
Intellectual Property refers to creations of the mind, which include inventions, creative works, and brand names. These can be protected by patents, copyrights, or trademarks.
What is a patent?
Patents protect inventions. A patent allows the owner to prevent others from making, using, or selling the patent owner’s invention. This provides incentive to companies or individuals to invest in the ideas protected by the patents.