Protect and commercialise your research and ideas

Your research and ideas developed at the University may have commercial or investment potential. UniServices can assess and help protect your research and ideas, ensuring your intellectual property (IP) is protected and giving it the best chance of being commercialised.

Why early disclosure matters

If you’ve invented something, filing a patent ensures you're recognised as the inventor and can benefit from future commercial opportunities. UniServices can support you with this process.

If you publicly present or publish your idea before securing IP protection, you may lose the ability to patent it, limiting commercialisation opportunities.

While patenting and publishing can go hand in hand, getting the timing right is critical.

The first step is to submit a detailed disclosure by completing the Idea Disclosure Form, or by contacting the UniServices Investment team.

For more information, refer to UniServices' Idea Disclosure page.

Once your idea is disclosed, the UniServices team conducts a thorough commercial viability assessment, including:

• Whether the technology is innovative and unique
• Its ability to solve a significant market problem
• Its potential for IP protection and market adoption

Intellectual property (IP) is a foundational asset that enables commercialisation by protecting innovative ideas, making them tradable, licensable, or investable. Strong IP rights provide the legal framework needed to attract partners, secure funding, and take your research to market.

There are several ways to commercialise research-based innovation at the University of Auckland, and UniServices can help with:

• Licensing your research: Patented research can be licensed to external companies, who may use it to improve their products, services, or processes.
• Creating spin-out companies: Sometimes, a new company is created around the technology or invention. These spin-outs often include the inventors as founding members.

Explore spin-out companies from the University

UniServices is the University’s technology transfer and commercialisation organisation.

Their team's services for University staff and researchers include:

• Advice on IP protection and commercialisation strategy.
• Connections to industry, investors, and commercial partners.
• Management of the University of Auckland Inventors’ Fund (an investment fund that supports early-stage research and start-ups from proof of concept through to investment and seed-funding).
• Template documents to help establish your business on a solid legal footing.
  

Fill out the disclosure form or, for any queries, email UniServices' Intellectual Property team.