What are the benefits of patenting my invention?
Patenting a UW-based innovation has many benefits. One important benefit is that a patent secures the UW’s ability to market the idea to corporate or non-profit entities that further invest in its development, manufacture, and distribution. The period of exclusivity provided by the patent is an incentive to commercial development since it allows for a return on the investment a licensee makes in developing the technology. Transfer of the technology into the marketplace benefits the public by providing new goods and services. Patenting benefits researchers by (1) demonstrating the uniqueness and value of their innovative work; (2) returning revenue to researchers and their departments, colleges, and schools; (3) helping researchers start companies around their innovations; and (4) providing the satisfaction of knowing they have benefited society by contributing new information that may lead to new or improved goods and services.
