Knowledge Transfer Services for Employees

Knowledge transfer workers at BUT ensure the identification and protection of intellectual property and provide necessary support and consulting in commercialization areas, including support for establishing an innovative company based on BUT research results (start-ups and spin-offs).

Each faculty/unit at BUT has authorized knowledge transfer workers available directly on-site.

Knowledge Transfer Managers offer assistance with the disclosure and protection of intellectual property, the process of commercializing research results, cooperation with external companies, contract research, and more.
Authorized persons provide assistance to employees of the relevant faculty or department regarding the recording and management of BUT's intellectual property.

It is essential NOT to disclose acquired knowledge or share it with third parties until its protection has been resolved.

BUT employees are required to report created knowledge and cooperate with knowledge transfer workers in evaluating the commercialization potential of the knowledge. If BUT does not assert its rights to the knowledge within 3 months from the report, the rights to the knowledge revert to the originator of the knowledge. If BUT asserts its rights to the knowledge, the originators are entitled to clearly defined reasonable reward, including a majority share of the net profit from the commercialization of the knowledge.

Knowledge is reported through BUT’s Information System (Apollo) in the "Vynálezy a autorská díla" module. If needed, an authorized worker at your faculty/unit can assist with completing the form.

Knowledge is defined as any result of creative activity that may have commercial potential.

Knowledge includes, in particular, new technical solutions (inventions), new external appearances of devices/products, software with technical effects, know-how related to manufacturing processes or work activities, etc.

A report of the knowledge may contain multiple items of knowledge, each of which may be protected by different forms of intellectual property:

• Innovative elements of a new device will be protected by a patent or utility model.
• The device's design (external appearance) will be protected by an industrial design.
• The software used by the device is protected by copyright (code text); if the technical requirements are met, the algorithms that control the device may also be patent-protected.
• After filing a patent application, the originators describe the device in a scientific article, which is protected by copyright (article text).
• The method of manufacturing the device represents BUT's know-how and will be kept confidential.

Useful links

• Industrial Property Office
• Google Patents
• ESPACENET
• TMview
• DSview

FAQ

Why conduct a search in patent literature?

It is said that 70% of technical information is only found in patent databases. If you are looking for newest information in your field, don’t rely solely on scientific journals; also conduct a patent search. Novelty searches are often conducted before starting research (to ensure the research is heading in the right direction) and before patenting research results (as novelty is a requirement for patentability, a search can save the costs of a patent application that might later be rejected).

Nowadays, most information is electronically accessible, making it easy to conduct a search quickly. The most frequently searched free databases are the European Patent Office’s ESPACENET and the World Intellectual Property Organization’s PATENTSCOPE. The Industrial Property Office’s database can also be used for certain types of searches.

What is the purpose of patent protection?

Part of knowledge transfer is the legal protection of disclosed knowledge. In an academic setting, patents serve as a means of bringing knowledge into practice. Research workers focus on science and research, and the university protects their results with patents and offers them to companies that incorporate the protected solutions into their products. Industrial protection (for example patents) is a social contract. The inventor discloses their innovative idea, thereby expanding the boundaries of human knowledge. Disclosure can inspire further progress, and once the protection period expires, anyone can use the knowledge. In return, society (the state) grants the inventor a time-limited exclusive rights, during which they alone can benefit from the inventive idea. For the inventor, a patent serves to protect their investment.

Without patent protection, the options for commercializing a technical solution are significantly limited, as upon disclosure, the solution becomes freely available, and there is no straightforward value to sell.

Why shouldn't I publish research results before filing a patent application?

One of the requirements for obtaining a patent is its global novelty, meaning that the technical solution has not been disclosed to the public before filing a patent application. Any form of disclosure—written (scientific articles, textbooks, online posts), oral (conferences, thesis defenses, communication to a third party without a confidentiality obligation), or otherwise (introducing the product that embodies the invention on the market)—could lead to the patent being denied or later revoked. Premature disclosure can result in the loss of the opportunity to patent the solution, thus significantly limiting its commercialization potential.

Before filing a patent application, it is necessary to keep the technical solution confidential. If you need to discuss the invention with others outside of designated BUT personnel, it is advisable to speak only about its effects and withhold technical details on how these effects are achieved (the essence of the solution). In cases where a detailed explanation is necessary, the third party must be verifiably and in writing bound to confidentiality.