This training module addresses why you
the Air Force scientist or engineer
should personally care about protecting
your inventions .
Actively protecting intellectual
property is an essential part of being
an Air Force scientist or engineer and
serves a critical function in meeting
the Air Force mission ,
specifically proper protection of air
force innovation , safeguards the
taxpayer investment and air force
research and development enhances the
likelihood of transition from the lab
to the warfighter and creates economic
value that drives the United States
economy . It
also confers a number of personal
benefits to you . The Air Force
scientist and engineer . This video
provides some answers to the question .
What's in it for me ? How
does protecting Air Force intellectual
property benefit you first protecting
intellectual property can advance your
career filing invention
disclosures and receiving patent grants
enhance your reputation . As a
scientist and engineer patents are a
measure of research productivity and
excellence . The Air Force is
increasingly including invention
disclosures and patents in performance
reviews , similar to peer reviewed
publications and journal articles . As
such , you can reference your invention
disclosures and patents to justify
promotions or advance your career .
And in most instances , the content of
a journal article or technical report ,
maybe efficiently converted into an
invention disclosure and patent
application resulting in both a
publication and intellectual property
to bolster a resume and turbocharge
your career . A
second benefit is job satisfaction
being awarded a patent for an invention
is a prestigious accomplishment and
provides pure recognition that
testifies to the novel and useful
nature of your work . Patenting your
inventions also contributes to the
advancement of science and technology
and inspires further innovation by
others . In addition , if the patented
invention is subsequently transferred
and successfully commercialized by
industry , you can witness the fruits
of your labor put to practical use in
products that benefit the US military
and the United States economy .
The 3rd benefit is financial .
Many laboratories offer monetary
incentives as a way to recognize the
time and effort required to complete
invention disclosures , file patents
and receive patent grants . Another
financial reward is license revenue
sharing . If your patent is licensed
industry , you are entitled to share in
the revenues . The company pays to the
Air Force for the license
Air Force inventors are entitled to the
1st $2000 per year and at least
20% of the net licensing revenues
received by the Air Force . This
royalty sharing remains in effect even
if the inventor leaves federal
employment And the payments become part
of the inventor's estate in the event
of his or her passing typical patent
license agreements are tied to the life
of a patent which in the us is 20 years
from the earliest filing date . This
means inventors and their errors may
benefit from revenue sharing for an
extended period of time . These
royalty payments can be substantial .
The 2018 National Defense Authorization
Act raised the amount that government
inventors may receive each year from
$150,000 to
$500,000 .
Entrepreneurship is a 4th benefit of
participating in the disclosure and
protection of air force inventions .
Protecting your innovation opens
several exciting opportunities . For
example , if your technology is
licensed by a company , the company may
want to continue to work with you .
They know that as the inventor , your
continued technical involvement may be
critical to the success of the
licensing effort . This presents the
perfect opportunity for the company to
fund further research and development
work with you and your lab under a
cooperative research and development
agreement , also known as a crater .
Your invention may also create the
opportunity to launch your own startup
company and bring your discovery to
market yourself . The Air Force has
innovative programs that enable SMES
like you to work on startup ventures
while maintaining federal employment .
This opportunity offers the best of
both worlds . A chance to pursue a
potentially lucrative new venture while
maintaining a level of job certainty
and income stability . 1/5 and final
benefit is contributing to the ongoing
viability of your research efforts and
your organization labs and
research programs . Can justify their
budgets and relevance by pointing to
important metrics such as invention
disclosures , patent filings , patent
grants , technology transfer agreements
and technology transitions to the
warfighter . These are important
quantitative measures of how these labs
are contributing to the nation's
economy , technological competitiveness
and defense mission . If labs can
develop a compelling argument , using
these quantitative measures , they can
successfully def find themselves
against budget cuts or even ward off
closure under brack . The base
realignment and closure process . In
fact , successful protection and
utilization of Air Force innovations
may be used to expand research
activities .
The identification and protection of
inventions and other Air Force
intellectual property does require time
and attention to detail . Fortunately ,
these mission critical tasks also
create a variety of personal
opportunities for you . The Air Force S
Andy to
summarize these opportunities include
career advancement , enhanced job
satisfaction , potential financial
rewards , entrepreneurial opportunity
and ensuring the ongoing viability of
your research . For more information ,
please contact your order or technology
transfer manager or email A F dot tech
transfer at us dot af dot Mil .