Inventions and Invention Reporting

Most funding sources, including the federal government, require that inventions be reported both to the University and sponsor. If a Principal Investigator thinks they may have made an invention or discovery that might have commercial potential, the inventor should report it to the Office of Technology Development (OTD), using the Report of Innovation form. The Report of Innovation provides the information that OTD needs to evaluate the invention or discovery and determine whether patenting is appropriate.

Additional information for inventors within the Harvard community can be found on the Office of Technology Development's website, including an overview of technology transfer at Harvard, relevant University policies, how to report an invention and information on material transfers.

At the end of a project, most federal sponsors require a final invention statement. The statement requires that Harvard disclose either a positive or negative report. The Department of Defense requires submission of Form DD882. The Department of Energy requires submission of a patent certification form DOE F2050-11. NIH requires submission of Form HHS568 via eRA Commons. See sponsor notice for additional submission details.

Responsibility for Patent Reporting

OSP and Departments have shared responsibility in completing necessary invention/patent reporting.

  • For NIH awards, the Department uses the NIH non-financial deliverable in GMAS to upload the inventions documents and notify the OSP Central Administrator.
  • For non-NIH awards, the Department creates an Other request type in GMAS at close-out and locks and routes the patent/invention report form with any other close-out documents.
  • The OSP Central Administrator communicates with OTD and sends the completed form to the Department for confirmation.
  • The Department confirms the information with the PI. Any issues or contradictions between the PI's information and what OTD has recorded will be resolved directly between OTD, the Department, and the PI.
  • After receiving confirmation of agreement between the Department and OTD, the OSP Central Administrator will submit the patent/invention information to the sponsor.
  • Note Regarding Subagreements: OTD is not involved with outgoing subawards (when Harvard is the sponsor). For outgoing subawards, the department should obtain the patent/invention report from the subrecipient’s AOR office and upload a copy to the Other request with the closeout documentation.