It is a concept very different from authorship on academic publications. The US Patent and Trademark Office examines US patent applications. Our outside patent counsel works on our behalf to seek a patent with the broadest possible protection. Foreign applications are routinely published 18 months after the original application is filed. Usually, patent counsel selected for prosecuting applications for UT Southwestern have advanced scientific degrees in addition to valuable experience in prosecuting patent applications in the scientific field.
Foreign patents can be extremely expensive.
However, expenses can be minimized somewhat through filing foreign applications through the Patent Cooperation Treaty. UT Southwestern pays for all costs associated with the preparation, prosecution and maintenance of the patent. UT Southwestern will seek reimbursement of patent costs through licensing. Patent applications based on research done at UT Southwestern usually take about three years to issue. However, simple inventions can take anywhere from 12-18 months.