Important Update

USC Stevens is transitioning from Wellspring’s Sophia to Inteum’s Minuet database, which affects how online invention disclosures may be submitted to our office. We appreciate your patience as we upgrade our platform to better serve USC inventors.

Blackout Period (June 17 – July 1, 2025)
It will not be possible to submit new online invention disclosures via Sophia or Inteum’s inventor portal during this time frame. If you need to submit an invention disclosure during the Blackout Period, please contact a member of the Technology Commercialization team at USC Stevens for assistance.

Go-Live Date (July 1, 2025)
USC inventors will be able to access Inteum’s inventor portal from the Go-Live Date to submit online invention disclosures by logging in with their USC SSO credentials. Guidance to facilitate the submission of invention disclosures will be posted on our website soon.

Weekly Zoom Office Hours (Wednesdays at 10:00 – 11:00 am effective July 2)
To support USC inventors as we transition to the new platform, our office will be hosting weekly Zoom office hours where you can speak with a member of our Technology Commercialization team or our Database Analyst. Please send an e-mail to licensing@stevens.usc.edu to request a Zoom meeting link.

Disclosing Inventions at USC

Woman using laptop

If you are interested in exploring commercialization pathways for inventions or copyrights arising from your research, whether through a startup or licensing to an established company, the first step is to submit an invention disclosure to the USC Stevens Center. We will work with you to evaluate the available intellectual property protection options and identify the most promising commercialization pathways.

Innovations developed with federal funding may be subject to the Bayh-Dole Act, which gives universities the opportunity and the responsibility to pursue commercialization on behalf of the public. You can read more about these obligations here. To ensure we can protect your innovation and meet our obligations to federal and other sponsors, we ask that you disclose inventions 90 days before a planned publication or public presentation. Early disclosure gives us the best chance to support your work and commercialization plans with a strong IP and licensing strategy.

Invention disclosures can be filed easily and quickly using Inteum’s inventor portal, a secure online portal which will be available from July 1, 2025. You will be able to log on to Inteum’s inventor portal with your USC NetID and password.

Note: During the Blackout Period (June 17 – July 1, 2025), you will have read-only access to Sophia, by logging on with your NETID and password, but will not be able to submit new disclosures through the Sophia portal. If you need to submit an invention disclosure during the Blackout Period, please contact a member of the Technology Commercialization team at the Stevens Center for assistance.

Steps in the invention disclosure process are outlined below. You can also refer to our Invention Disclosure Frequently Asked Questions page for additional information.

Steps in the Invention Disclosure Process

1. What If I'm Not Sure I Need to File an Invention Disclosure?

If you’re not sure whether your discovery should be disclosed or not, please submit an Inventor Pre-Disclosure Contact Request and a member of the Licensing Team will contact you to discuss.

2. Submit an Invention Disclosure

USC researchers will be able to disclose their inventions to Stevens Center using Inteum’s inventor portal, a secure online portal that is accessed using your USC NetID and password. The basic information needed includes:

  • a list of inventors and their emails
  • funding source(s)
  • abstract/description of the invention’s novel features
  • and, preferably, a manuscript draft.

3. Assignment to Licensing Team Member

Once your invention disclosure has been submitted, it is assigned to a Stevens Center Technology Commercialization team member who works with your department. The Technology Commercialization team member will review your disclosure and will contact you to set up a time to meet.

4. Meeting to Review Disclosure

At a virtual or in-person meeting, your Stevens Center Technology Commercialization team member will gather additional information, learn more about your invention, and work with you on determining a potential patent filing and, ultimately, commercialization of your invention.

5. Decision on Intellectual Property Protection

The Stevens Center Technology Commercialization team reviews the disclosure to determine whether to file a patent application on the invention. The review includes researching the market, identifying competitive technologies, and determining whether prior art exists. Once the review is complete, a decision will be made and communicated to the researcher. The options include:

  1. Pursue IP protection using outside legal counsel
  2. Not file for IP protection but actively market invention
  3. Wait until more data is available, then decide whether to pursue IP protection
  4. Waive rights to the IP and assign it to the inventor(s) OR the federal government if the research was federally funded

6. Licensing Process Begins

See the Learn About the Technology Licensing Process page for more information.