Commercialisation of inventions

If you would like early sparring on what type of impact your research may create – or how it may eventually be commercialised or perhaps developed into a spinout company – you are always welcome to reach out to KU Lighthouse.

We offer early, strategic sparring where we work with you to develop an innovation roadmap for your research area. Together, we explore for example:

• which pathways your research project can take if the goal is impact, commercialisation or company creation
• whether there are research directions or experiments that can both strengthen your scientific work and increase the chances that your results can make a real-world difference
• how you can best position your research if you wish to create long-term value – scientifically, societally or commercially

Our experienced team works dedicatedly with commercialisation, innovation and research-based spinouts. Whether you have a concrete idea or only the first sparks of one, we are very happy to help you explore the possibilities early in the process.

Reach out to us at lighthouse@ku.dk, and an Innovation Advisor will contact you to discuss your research.

Employees at the University of Copenhagen are legally required to report their inventions to KU Lighthouse.

If you believe you have made an invention, you must complete an Invention Disclosure Form (IDF) and send the signed form to IDF@adm.ku.dk.

Remember to:

• obtain signatures from all KU-employed inventors
• obtain signatures from your head(s) of department
• list any students who may be co-inventors

If you are unsure how to complete the IDF – or whether your research result may qualify as an invention – you are very welcome to contact KU Lighthouse. We are happy to help with both completion, sparring and assessing how your research can become innovation and create impact.

Download the Invention Disclosure Form here

Once you submit your IDF, KU Lighthouse will register it and contact you promptly to arrange a meeting.
If any of your co-inventors are employed outside UCPH, KU Lighthouse will also contact the relevant organisations to make the process as smooth as possible for you.

After you report your invention, KU Lighthouse has two months to assess whether UCPH should take over the rights and continue with a potential patenting, impact and commercialisation process.

The assessment is not only about patentability. We work broadly to explore how your research can create value and impact in the world – through spinouts, collaborations, new solutions, new methods or pathways other than patenting.

The assessment typically includes:

• an evaluation of the commercial and societal potential
• dialogue with you as the inventor about data, expertise, market, funding, publication plans, and how the research may gain societal relevance either through your own or another organisation
• an external assessment of patent opportunities (if relevant)

KU Lighthouse also investigates whether existing agreements may affect the possibilities for further work – e.g. collaboration agreements, material transfer agreements or terms linked to research grants.

Based on the overall assessment, KU Lighthouse decides whether UCPH will take over the rights and pursue the best possible route to commercialisation or other forms of impact.

All expenses related to the assessment are covered by KU Lighthouse.

If UCPH takes over the rights, Lighthouse will work with you to organise a patenting and commercialisation plan, taking into account your wishes for publication and further work with the invention.

Read more about patenting and publishing under point 7 (in the link)

It is also a good idea to consider early on whether you may be interested in starting your own company based on the invention. If this direction is chosen, our team can help you think through the most important considerations when establishing a company. Our team includes people with previous founder experience, and KU Lighthouse also hosts Entrepreneurs in Residence (EiRs) who are employed at UCPH for limited periods specifically to help establish new companies.

It is therefore possible that you may find a commercially experienced co-founder for your spinout at KU Lighthouse. The EiRs have often co‑founded several companies, and their experience can be extremely valuable in turning your project into a success.

Read more under Start your own business

If you do not wish to start a company, KU Lighthouse will instead help identify and contact companies that may be interested in a licence agreement or other collaboration models. Depending on the chosen plan, we will support establishing contact with external partners who may be interested in licensing, collaborating on or investing in the invention.

You should expect to participate in meetings with potential commercial partners.
Your subject‑matter expertise is essential, and your collaboration is crucial to the project’s success.

Together with you, KU Lighthouse will also assess which experiments, data or studies could strengthen the project, such as:

• experiments that reduce project risk
• studies that support and strengthen a patent application

In some cases, KU can support this work with Proof of Concept funding.

Innovation Fund Denmark's Innoexplorer programme may also be relevant for projects where the researcher wishes to establish a company – often as a natural extension of a KU PoC grant. Please be aware of deadlines for the Innoexplorer grant as an internal KU process is required before applying at Innovation Fund Denmark.

When a potential licensee has been identified, KU Lighthouse negotiates the licence agreement on your behalf and handles all subsequent maintenance of the agreement.

A licence agreement may be with an existing company – or with your own spinout company if you choose to start one.

If the licence agreement generates revenue, the profit is divided into three equal parts:

• one third to UCPH
• one third to the institute(s) involved
• one third to the inventor(s)

If UCPH decides not to take over the rights, you retain ownership of your (share of the) invention and are free to proceed as you wish. However, this also means that you must cover all costs related to patenting and commercialisation.

Further development of the invention must take place outside your UCPH working hours and without using UCPH facilities.

Be aware that UCPH may still be entitled to a share of any eventual financial return if you succeed in commercialising the invention.

To support you, KU Lighthouse has gathered a range of advice and tools for researchers who wish to commercialise their invention themselves.

You do not need to worry that patenting will delay your publication. KU Lighthouse will work with you to plan both processes in the best possible way.

However, it is essential that you contact KU Lighthouse as early as possible.
It is not possible to patent something that has already been fully or partially disclosed publicly. We are therefore happy to help ensure that you can share your results without jeopardising a potential patent.

A “public disclosure” may include:

• articles
• posters (e.g. for conferences)
• PowerPoint presentations shared with people outside your UCPH research group
• seminar presentations
• public meetings where persons other than the inventors are present
• YouTube videos
• Master’s thesis defence
• PhD defence

If you are in doubt about whether something counts as public disclosure – or how to handle confidential information at a thesis or PhD defence – you are always welcome to contact KU Lighthouse.

KU Lighthouse will work with you to plan the best way to proceed with a patent application for your invention. Throughout the process, you will collaborate closely with the external patent agent responsible for drafting and maintaining the patent application.

As the scientific expert, your input is crucial to creating a strong application. Together with the patent agent, KU Lighthouse ensures that you stay informed and receive timely updates on important deadlines, authority responses and other essential steps.

All expenses related to patenting are covered by KU Lighthouse.

Read more about patenting on the website of the Danish Patent and Trademark Office.

Read more about patenting on the website of the Danish Patent and Trademark Office.