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Inventions and Patents

If you have come up with a new way of solving a problem while conducting your research, you should have it examined to determine whether it constitutes an invention.

All members of Ostfalia are obliged to report inventions (including those from externally funded projects) that arise in connection with their work or duties at the university (Employee Inventions Act (external link, opens in a new window)). The university then decides how to proceed. 
If an invention is new and sufficiently different from the state of the art, a patent application must be considered.

The patent commercialisation agency MBM ScienceBridge GmbH is at your disposal in all matters relating to inventions and patents and will advise you free of charge. The following services are available:

  • Confidential advice for all employees on inventions and property rights
  • Carrying out patent searches for university members and institutes
  • Coordination of the patent application with external patent attorneys
  • Commercial utilisation of inventions, software, trademarks, designs, etc.

Intellectual Property (IP)-Strategie

The IP strateg (PDF, 51.97 KB) (opens in a new window), (not accessible)y defines how Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences deals with intellectual property generated at the university in a responsible and conscious manner.

Submitting an invention disclosure

Please submit the invention disclosure to the Vice President for Research, Development and Technology Transfer, Prof Dr Heinz-Dieter Quack (opens your email program).

You can find the invention disclosure forms as a Word file here (DOC, 169.00 KB) (opens in a new window).

Patentability and patent application

The patent utilisation agency, MBM ScienceBridge GmbH, examines the patentability and economic potential of the invention, making a recommendation to the university management. Based on this, the Vice President decides within four months of receiving the complete invention disclosure whether to utilise the invention and file a patent application, or release it.

Funding for utilisation

The utilisation of commercially usable research results is being funded by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture (MWK) as part of the ‘From research to implementation - inventions and patents as the basis for research-based knowledge and technology transfer’ call for proposals with funding from zukunft.niedersachsen (external link, opens in a new window).

The project ‘Gemeinsam stark - Best Practice im Patenverbund für nachhaltige Forschungsverwertung (PaNaF)’ was successfully acquired under the leadership of Georg-August-Universität Göttingen as a joint project involving Ostfalia University and other universities from Lower Saxony. The exploitation activities will be funded until 31 December 2028.

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Your contact person at Ostfalia is Dr. Martina Lange (external link, opens in a new window).