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An employee or contractor made the invention. Who owns it?

Ownership, inventorship and the paperwork that decides both.

Read the policy and the funding terms together.

University policies, sponsored research agreements and funding conditions frequently interact, and the answer is rarely in one document.

  • Establish who owns, who may file, who pays and who decides.
  • Check publication clauses and notice periods - they affect filing timing.
  • Where two institutions are involved, sort joint ownership in writing before anything is filed.

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This is educational guidance, not personalised legal advice. It cannot see your documents, your dates or the prior art, and those are usually what decide the answer. Use it to understand the question, then take advice on your own facts.

Not sure whether this applies to your invention?

The honest answer usually needs someone to look at your actual disclosure, your timeline and the prior art. That is a conversation, not an article.