The Office of Technology Transfer is a service organization within Rice University, that assists both the university and the faculty in finding commercialization opportunities for innovations arising from research.

A primary function of the university is to disseminate new ideas through publications. The OTT works within that function to quickly protect intellectual property (IP) rights before publishing occurs, to maximize the commercial value of the innovation. Surprisingly, "giving an idea to the world" through publishing without first filing patents can often guarantee that the discovery will be ignored by industry.

If you have an idea or a new discovery that you believe could lead to a commercial process or product, please contact us for a consultation. We can work with you and develop a strategy for protecting IP rights that does not delay your plans for publication.