human: What criteria are relevant for the evaluation of inventions?
assistant: • Market size/ Market potential. How big is the market for products or services based on the invention? Are there any competing products or services? How high are the expected revenues?• Competitive advantage. What are the benefits and what is the value added resulting from the invention compared to competing products or processes already existing in the marketplace?• State of development. How far is it from the invention to a product? Is there a proof of concept or a prototype?• Sufficiency of patent protection. Is protection by a patent enough to secure the competitive advantage? Can patent protection easily be evaded? Is there a 'freedom to operate'?This is not a complete list, it is merely intended to present an overview of key criteria. As a rule, it will take Technology Transfer four to six weeks to conduct such an evaluation, provided that no special circumstances arise. This evaluation will include a patent search and, if necessary, a consultation with an external expert. The evaluation criteria will be applied not only at the time of invention disclosure, but also during an ongoing patent granting procedure.