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Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Where are you located?
  2. What is an invention?
  3. How do I disclose an invention?
  4. Why would I disclose my invention to CCTEC?
  5. When do I disclose my invention to CCTEC?
  6. How is CCTEC related to the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) and the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (RASP) ?
  7. How do I locate and reach a member of the CCTEC staff?
  8. What does CCTEC do?
  9. How do I find out the status of the inventions that I disclosed to CCTEC?
  10. How do I know the licensing professional at CCTEC is doing a good job with my disclosure?

If your question is not answered here, please contact us at cctecconnect@cornell.edu


1) Where are you located?

CCTEC has two offices, one in Ithaca and one in Manhattan. The Ithaca office is located at 395 Pine Tree Road, Suite 310 in Ithaca, NY 14850 to serve the Ithaca campus and the Agriculture Experimental Station in Geneva. The Manhattan office is located at 418 East 71st St., Suite 61, New York, NY 10021 to serve the Weill Cornell Medical College. For more information about our location and directions, visit our contact page.

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2) What is an invention?

An invention is a novel creation, discovery, and/or idea. It may be (but does not have to be) protected by US or international intellectual property rights such as patent rights, plant variety protection certificates, and/or plant breeder's rights. Some inventions, when tangible, also enjoy physical property right protection.

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3) How do I disclose an invention?

A disclosure form can be downloaded from CCTEC's website http://www.cctec.cornell.edu/forms/.  You can fill out with details and email or paper-mail it back to us. <http://www.cctec.cornell.edu/about/contact.php>.   The disclosure form asks you for a written description of the invention (you can append to it additional manuscripts, explanatory drawings, and supporting data etc.), who sponsored the work from which the invention arises, who are your collaborators (CCTEC will need to find out more about the inventions that are patentable and the contributions of the individuals to decide whether your collaborators should be co-inventors.  What that means is that CCTEC will have to do some homework before determining who are inventors.  Inventorship is not the same as authorship in an academic publication.  It is determined according to patent law and is facts driven.  Until we know what are the inventions we will file for patent protection, and the specific contributions of the individuals, it will be pre-mature to list your collaborators as co-inventors since incorrect inventorship in a patent may jeopardize its usefulness in the future), what do you think the invention can do, and what businesses may use the invention etc.  After you disclose your invention,  a CCTEC licensing professional will contact you do discuss your invention within two months (the delay is because the licensing professional needs to spend some time to research what you disclose prior to having a meaningful discussion with you).

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4) Why would I disclose my invention to CCTEC?

Under Cornell's policy inventions created by any person who holds a Cornell appointment or who uses Cornell resources to perform work that leads to the invention must disclose the invention to CCTEC so that CCTEC may determine whether Cornell should own the invention and/or whether there are obligations to the sponsor(s), if any, of the work.

For example, if your work from which the invention arises is funded by the US government, the University must notify the federal agency that funds your work within two months of your disclosure to the University. The agency must also be notified of the acceptance for publication of any manuscript describing the invention, and of any sale or public use of the invention. Failure to do so would cause the University to breach the research contract that the university enters into on your behalf with the federal agency and may affect future funding.

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5) When do I disclose my invention to CCTEC?

A disclosure should be filed as soon as you believe you have made a new discovery or you have conceived of a new idea. Additional material can be added as the details of your invention evolve. Your disclosure serves as the first official record of your discovery or conception and that helps to protect your invention as well as recognizing your contribution to the field.

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6) How is CCTEC related to the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) and the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (RASP) ?

CCTEC, the OSP in Ithaca, and the RASP in Manhattan at the Weill Cornell Medical College are separate administrative offices of Cornell.   

OSP and RASP negotiate with sponsors (both government and private) and administer the resultant contracts that provide funding to support research, extension and other academic activities at Cornell.

CCTEC's primary responsibility is the management of the property and the related rights that result from such activities to advance the land grant missions of the university.

Often the sponsors, as a condition of providing the funding, demand that the property and the related rights that may arise of the funded activities be disposed of in specific manners. When that happens, CCTEC and OSP or RASP will work together to ensure that the contracts being negotiated would be in compliant of Cornell policies and applicable laws, not compromise the academic principles of the university, and also be sufficiently manageable given the administrative infrastructure at Cornell. That's the reason occasionally you may find CCTEC providing input to some of sponsored contracts being negotiated.

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7) How do I locate and reach a member of the CCTEC staff?

To find the name, responsibilities and contact information of CCTEC staff members, please go to our staff web page.

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8) What does CCTEC do?

The Cornell Center for Technology Enterprise and Commercialization (CCTEC) manages Cornell University's technologies and related intellectual property that results from the university's research activities. By marketing and licensing Cornell's technologies, CCTEC tries to partner with industry to turn Cornell's research results into useful products and services to benefit the public.  

When necessary, CCTEC works with researchers to secure the proper intellectual property rights protection for their inventions and associated copyrights and trademarks to facilitate the partnering with industry.  More specifically. CCTEC manages disclosures by researchers of their new technologies and inventions and related intellectual property rights, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, and licenses and tangible research materials.

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9) How do I find out the status of the inventions that I disclosed to CCTEC?

CCTEC has created an online tool, MyIPTM, that you can go online to find out the status of each of your disclosed inventions.  You need a username and a password to access the latest information.  They were provided to you when you made your first disclosure.  If you forgot what they were, please contact CCTEC at cctecconnect@cornell.edu and CCTEC will provide you the information again. 

Currently, MyIPTM, has three functionalities.  It provides you the most recent information regarding 

(i) the patenting status (i.e. whether we have filed a patent application on your invention and the status of the prosecution of the application), 

(ii) the licensing status (i.e. what agreements have been executed and with which entity relating to your disclosed invention), and 

(iii) the marketing status (i.e. which business entities we have contacted to pitch your invention and the status of such efforts).  

Each of these functionalities provides you an increasing level of details if you spend the time to "dig" into it.  Of course, at any time you fail to find the answer you want using this online tool, the responsible licensing professional for each of your disclosed inventions is only a click away for you to send an email to inquire.  Please do not hesitate to contact the licensing professional assigned to assist you with your disclosure at any time.  The licensing professional likes to hear from you for input and the necessary interactions.

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10) How do I know the licensing professional at CCTEC is doing a good job with my disclosure?

CCTEC has implemented a "client satisfaction" survey system to monitor how its professionals are serving you.  Two months after you made a disclosure (other than a simple request to transfer tangible research materials) to CCTEC, CCTEC will send you a simple survey via email to ask you a few questions.  From your answers to these questions, CCTEC administration will know how timely and thorough the responsible professional is serving you.  As your disclosed invention winds through the commercialization process, you may receive an additional survey for your opinions on the performance of the office and the licensing professional in particular.  CCTEC welcomes constructive feedbacks on how it may improves it services.

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