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As a researcher, creator or inventor at the University of Colorado, your work has the potential to change the world. Whether you’re advancing renewable energy solutions, developing breakthrough medical devices or creating innovative software, your discoveries could have far-reaching impacts beyond the lab, studio or classroom. Protecting these innovations may be necessary to ensure that they reach their full potential, benefiting society while securing recognition and opportunities for you.

What is Intellectual Property (IP)?

IP refers to creations of the mind, including inventions, designs, original works of authorship, trade secrets and trademarks. IP encompasses both tangible creations, like a prototype or software and intangible assets, like ideas and processes. IP protections such as patents and copyrights are key tools for ensuring that your innovations have a lasting impact.

Why IP matters

When you publish your research, share your invention, or showcase your creation publicly, it becomes accessible to everyone around the world. While public disclosure can advance knowledge-sharing and inspire innovation, publishing without the proper IP protection could prevent the technology from being further developed into a product and made more widely available.

Venture Partners at CU ÌÇÐÄVlogÆƽâ°æ is here to help secure IP rights and safeguard the discoveries researchers, inventors and creators at CU ÌÇÐÄVlogÆƽâ°æ, UCCS and CU Denver (except CU Denver biosciences investigators, who should work withÌý) make while at the university, ensuring you receive proper recognition and enabling opportunities for broader impact.

Securing IP rights can open doors to funding and partnerships. Protected innovations are more attractive to investors, collaborators and companies looking to license new technologies and in many cases are necessary for a company to partner with your lab or to invest in further research or development of a product. By protecting your work, you’re not only ensuring its impact but also creating opportunities for further growth and development.

How Venture Partners can help

Venture Partners is here to support you at every step of the IP process. We provide the expertise and resources you need to protect your innovations and bring them to the world.

• Confidential Consultations: Have an idea or discovery? Share it with our team of experts, who can help you evaluate its potential and guide you on the next steps.
• IP Protection: From patents to copyrights, our team specializes in identifying and securing the appropriate protections for your work.
• Supporting Broader Impact: We connect university innovators with funding, mentors and industry partners to turn ideas into impactful products and services.

CU’s IP policy requires university-employed researchers, creators and inventors to disclose innovations to ensure protection and access to commercialization resources. Early disclosure—before public presentation or publication—preserves the university’s ability to secure IP protection, especially for patents.ÌýLearn more about CU’s IP policy here.

Unsure if your work should be disclosed? Venture Partners is happy to meet with you to discuss your work and opportunities before you commit to submitting a disclosure.ÌýLearn more and contact our team.

Opportunity begins with disclosure

One of the biggest misconceptions about commercialization is that researchers, inventors or creators must give up control of their intellectual property. Venture Partners empowers CU innovators to take the lead in translating their discoveries into real-world applications. Whether you want to launch a startup, collaborate with industry or license your technology to an existing company in exchange for royalties, Venture Partners provides guidance and funding opportunities to support your journey.

Venture Partners can also help connect you with experienced industry partners or entrepreneurs who will drive commercialization forward on your behalf—ensuring that your discoveries make an impact without requiring you to leave academia.

A record of success

In fiscal year 2023-24, Venture Partners secured 45 patents for university innovations, half of which are already partnered with new ventures and companies. In the same year, Venture Partners launched 36 new companies based on CU innovations—many founded by the innovators themselves and others formed in partnership with entrepreneurs from outside the university.Ìý

Protecting new intellectual property was the first step in creating a competitive strategy for new CU startups likeÌýLongPath Technologies, which was developed out of research by founder Greg Reiker (CU ÌÇÐÄVlogÆƽâ°æ Paul M. Rady Mechanical Engineering, NIST) to create a long-range methane detection system. Similarly,ÌýSomaLogic emerged from the groundbreaking work by Larry Gold (CU ÌÇÐÄVlogÆƽâ°æ Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology (MCDB)) revolutionizing proteomics methods to provide deeper insights into disease detection, treatment and personalized medicine.

Beyond startups, CU innovations are being licensed all over the world.

• is a software tool for modelling river systems with over 200 licenses to water management groups around the world. It is one of the most used CU ÌÇÐÄVlogÆƽâ°æ innovations.
• provides interactive learning simulations for science and math. Available in over 120 languages, and through partnerships with hundreds of education companies, PhET has transformed STEM learning across the globe.
• New materials invented at CU ÌÇÐÄVlogÆƽâ°æ and licensed by 3M provide more durable dental fillings, dentures and implants, for more effective and fewer trips to the dentist chair.Ìý

How to get started

Protecting your innovation begins with a simple step: submitting a disclosure to Venture Partners. Our online disclosure form is quick and easy to complete, and our team is available to answer any questions you have along the way. Learn more and get started here.

Your work deserves protection

CU is committed to fostering innovation and supporting the incredible work of its researchers, creators and inventors. By protecting your discoveries, you’re taking the first step toward transforming your ideas into real-world solutions. Let Venture Partners help you navigate this journey and ensure your innovations make a lasting impact.