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Research carried out at MGH may result in discoveries such as new or improved substances with therapeutic or diagnostic value, new uses or processes for producing known substances, instruments, and devices or procedures which may constitute inventions of commercial value.

Since the Hospital itself does not develop and market products, the most direct way to make these discoveries available to the public in the form of products is to reach agreements with companies which have the resources to produce them.

This process is facilitated by the Hospital's obtaining patent protection for many of the discoveries made in the course of MGH research. A patent is often the best mechanism to ensure that beneficial discoveries will be made available to the public.

Companies usually are unwilling to commit the large amounts of money needed to develop and market new inventions, particularly medical inventions, without the protection afforded by patents. Inventors cannot obtain this protection unless they make a complete disclosure of how to make and use the invention in a patent application which is published upon issuance of a patent.

For many researchers, becoming involved in patenting and commercialization of intellectual property is a new experience. Matters such as the effect of public disclosure on patent applications; confidentiality agreements; overlapping institutional patent rights, and many other issues must be addressed in dealing with intellectual property. Corporate Sponsored Research and Licensing helps researchers deal with these matters.

Corporate Sponsored Research and Licensing also will meet with researchers whose research appears likely to lead to the creation of intellectual property, just to provide information about how to handle the intellectual property. Like most academic research institutions, MGH requires its research and clinical staff, employees and students receiving training at the Hospital to execute a Participation Agreement before they begin work. In the Participation Agreement, the individual agrees to comply with the MGH's Intellectual Property Policy, as well as its Statement of Policy on Consulting Agreements , The Partners General Principles of Conduct and Conflicts of Interest Policy.

The MGH's Intellectual Property Policy requires Hospital staff and employees to report promptly to Corporate Sponsored Research and Licensing any research results and inventions that may be patentable or have commercial potential, and to assign to the Hospital all rights in any inventions made with Hospital funding or with substantial use of Hospital materials, facilities or other resources.

Federal law requires that inventions made in the performance of federally funded research be assigned to the MGH. Although the Hospital places no restrictions on a researcher's freedom to publish, investigators are strongly encouraged to consult with Corporate Sponsored Research and Licensing before publishing or making public oral disclosures of the results of their research that may be patentable or have commercial potential, because such publications, including abstracts and oral public presentations, may result in the loss of international patent rights unless patent applications are filed before the publication or public oral presentation.

In addition, when inventions arise from industry-sponsored research, the Hospital usually will have contractual obligations to notify the sponsor and file patent applications before inventions are made public. Investigators who wish to notify Corporate Sponsored Research and Licensing of an invention should complete an Invention Disclosure Form and submit it to Corporate Sponsored Research and Licensing. When Corporate Sponsored Research and Licensing receives an invention disclosure, a case manager will first seek input on its scientific and commercial value from the Invention Evaluation committee.

For these inventions likely to have commercial potential, Corporate Sponsored Research and Licensing will decide to file a patent application claiming the invention. In this case Corporate Sponsored Research and Licensing will hire patent attorneys to obtain patent protection for the invention and will discuss with the inventor(s) a strategy for commercialization of the invention. If the Hospital decides not to pursue patent protection, it may elect to release the invention to the inventor(s) or to effect its dedication to the public.

If the Hospital receives royalties from the commercialization of an invention, the royalties will be shared by the inventor, the inventor's laboratory, the inventor's department, and the MGH general research funds, according to a formula established by the Trustees and set forth in the MGH Intellectual Property Policy CSRL will help researchers unfamiliar with the patent process to fully protect patent rights, and will be glad to provide information, answer questions, and help develop an understanding of the sometimes confusing world of patents and other intellectual property.

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