human: What are the steps from an Invention Disclosure to a Patent
assistant: If you have made an invention, you have to report it to the Technology Transfer Office as the department dealing with inventions. Technology Transfer will evaluate the invention based on patent law and commercial criteria. On the basis of this evaluation, the DKFZ will decide whether it will claim the invention or release it to the inventors. The steps from Invention Disclosure to a patent are:1. Filing a Patent ApplicationIf the DKFZ has claimed an invention, a patent application will usually be filed. The patent application will be drafted by an external patent attorney. You will be requested to contribute to this process by providing the attorney with your results and your expertise. The attorney will file the patent application in the name of the DKFZ, as a rule, with the European Patent Office (EPO) to start with. The costs are borne by the DKFZ.2. Patent Granting ProcedureAfter a patent application has been filed, the patent office will examine the prior art and then review the invention using specific criteria (novelty, inventiveness, susceptibility to industrial application, clarity, feasibility and sufficient disclosure) to determine its patentability. A patent will eventually be granted only to the extent to which these criteria are fulfilled (often after 5 years or more since original priority filing).Following the first filing with the EPO, the DKFZ will usually also file an international (PCT) application and national applications resulting from it, such as in the US, Europe, China or Japan.3. Decision on Patent MaintenanceSince patent application and maintenance are expensive, there are regular reviews to determine whether it still makes sense to carry on with these. Important cost-relevant milestones of a patent granting procedure are 12 and 30 months after filing.For a period of up to 12 months after a first filing that has given rise to a right of priority (usually a European filing) it is possible to supply further unpublished data and to file patent applications for the same invention in other countries. Since the value of an invention is frequently still unclear after one year, it is possible to delay this decision by 18 months by filing an international patent application under PCT (PCT filing).