We can protect your ideas and help generate benefits for you and the wider community
Protecting your ideas
MRCT protects intellectual property (IP) generated by academic researchers based in MRC Units and Institutes.
Once the commercial potential of your research has been identified, MRCT will decide how best to protect it, e.g. by applying for a patent, copyright and/or trademark. Your IP might include potential diagnostic or therapeutic products, platform technologies, medical devices, software, research reagents or know-how.
How you benefit
MRCT will seek to commercialise protected IP through, for example, licensing to an industry partner, or forming a start-up or spin-out company.
Any income generated by commercialised IP will be shared with you and your institution.
If you are employed by the MRC, you will receive this income via the Awards to Inventors scheme.
Before you publish - what you should do next
If you think your work might have some commercial potential you should speak to your Business Manager or Technology Transfer Office before you tell anyone outside your lab about it. This includes publishing a paper, or speaking about your work at a conference or with friends.
