Can I still patent something after presenting it at a conference?

In Europe, usually not, because the presentation counts as prior art against your own application. In the United States, a one-year grace period may protect your own disclosure, but relying on it limits your options elsewhere. Talk to your technology transfer office before any presentation.

Who owns an invention I make as a PhD student?

It depends on whether you are employed by the university, hold a scholarship or work under a contract with an industry partner, and on national law and university regulations. Employees' inventions usually belong to the employer. Check your contract and ask the technology transfer office.

How long does a patent last?

A patent generally lasts up to 20 years from the filing date, provided renewal fees are paid. Some product areas, such as medicines, have special extensions in certain jurisdictions.

Do I need a patent attorney?

Inventors can file applications themselves in many countries, but drafting claims that hold up is a specialist skill. Universities usually work with patent attorneys and cover the costs if they decide to protect the invention.

Patents for researchers: publish or patent first?

If a research result could be patentable, speak to your institution’s technology transfer office before you publish a paper, present a poster, give a talk or post a preprint. Patent law requires an invention to be new on the filing date, and in Europe any earlier public disclosure, including your own, can make it unpatentable. Filing first and publishing afterwards usually costs only a short delay.

This page gives general information. It is not legal advice; for decisions about a specific invention, involve your technology transfer office and a qualified patent attorney.

What can be patented?

Patents protect technical inventions that are:

new, meaning not disclosed to the public anywhere before the filing date
inventive, meaning not obvious to a skilled person in the field
industrially applicable, meaning they can be made or used in some kind of industry

Scientific discoveries, mathematical methods and abstract theories as such are not patentable, but a technical application of them may be. In exchange for protection, the patent application is published, usually 18 months after filing, so the invention becomes part of the public record.

Publish or patent: why timing matters

Jurisdiction	Grace period for your own disclosure	Practical consequence
European Patent Office	No general grace period, only narrow exceptions such as evident abuse	File before any public disclosure
Germany (utility model)	A six-month grace period for utility models	Not available for patents, and utility models do not cover processes
United States	One year for disclosures by the inventor	Some protection in the US, but not in Europe

“Public disclosure” is broad. It can include journal articles, preprints, conference talks and posters, published abstracts, theses available in a library, websites and even conversations without a confidentiality agreement. The European Patent Office explains the requirements in its guidance for applicants.

Who owns a university invention?

Ownership depends on your employment status, national law, university regulations and any contracts with partners.

Employees (staff scientists, many doctoral researchers on contracts): inventions made in the course of employment usually belong to the employer. Inventors normally receive a share of any licensing income under university rules or national law.
Students and scholarship holders: they are often not employees, so the general rules may not apply automatically. Universities may have specific regulations or ask students in funded projects to assign rights.
Industry collaborations: the cooperation agreement usually settles who owns results and who may file patents. Read it before the project starts.

How the patent process works

Record the invention in your lab notebook with dates and the names of everyone who contributed.
Keep it confidential until you have spoken to the technology transfer office. Use non-disclosure agreements for external talks.
Submit an invention disclosure to the technology transfer office, describing what is new and how it works.
Assessment: the office evaluates novelty, commercial potential and costs, often with a patent attorney.
Filing: if the institution decides to proceed, a patent attorney drafts and files the application, often first at a national office or the EPO.
International extension: within the priority year, the application can be extended abroad, for example through the PCT route administered by WIPO.
Examination and grant: the office examines the application, which can take several years.
Exploitation: licensing to a company or a spin-off, with income shared according to the rules.

Patents and publications can coexist

Many researchers worry that patenting delays their papers. In practice, a well-organised technology transfer office can often file a first application quickly, after which you are free to publish. Plan this into your timeline in how to publish a research paper, and before you submit an abstract, see the note in submitting to a conference and giving the talk.

Checklist before any disclosure

Does the result solve a technical problem in a new way?
Could a company want to use or license it?
Have you told the technology transfer office?
Have co-authors and partners been informed and agreed on timing?
Are non-disclosure agreements in place for talks with external partners?
Do your funding conditions say anything about intellectual property? See research funding.

Patents in technology-heavy fields

In areas such as semiconductors, materials and microelectronics, patents play a large role, and companies track filings closely. Our explainer on emerging memory technologies gives an example of a field where research and industrial development are closely linked.

Patents for researchers