Category: Resources

Resources for Native Inventors, Creators and Entrepreneurs

Technology Transfer

Technology transfer, also called transfer of technology (TOT), entails the of technology from its place of origin to wider distribution among more people and places.

Technology Transfer takes place most often among universities, from universities to businesses, from large businesses to smaller ones, from governments to businesses.

It typifies joint efforts to share skills, knowledge, technologies, methods of manufacturing, samples of manufacturing, and facilities to ensure that scientific and technological developments are accessible to a wider range of users who can then further develop and exploit the technology into new products, processes, applications, materials, or services.

For NAIPEC, this means identifying technologies, patents, or portfolios of patents, in the wider world, and working with Tribe and Tribal businesses to acquire the use or development of these technologies in order to create or enhance new enterprises for Native People.

At NAIPEC we work closely with NDN, a for-profit organization that facilitates and helps manage these transfers.

We encourage companies that wish to work with Native Tribes to contact either NAIPEC or NDN IP to discuss Patent and Technology Transfer.

NDN IP Partners advocates an approach to intellectual property management that maximizes profit and minimizes exposure to litigation. It grounds its approach to IP management in the Native tradition of collaborative enterprise and the pursuit of outcomes that benefit all parties. NDN IP, working with NAIPEC, is committed to providing IP strategies that allow entrepreneurs to realize the full value of their work, and enable them to follow their ideas wherever they lead.

For more information please contact NDN IP atndnip-info@ndnip.co, or by visiting their website here >>

Native Innovation and IP Workshop

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Native Innovation and IP Workshop

NAIPEC, in association with Navajo Tech Innovation Center, Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, U.S. Department of Interior, Navajo Technical University and New Mexico SBDC, invites you to:

Join us for a special Native Innovation and IP Workshop. An Information and Education session on Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Patents, Trademarks and Intellectual Property with industry and government leaders.

Attendance on a first come, first served basis.

APRIL 13, 2016

8:00am – 3:00pm

Admission: Free

NAVAJO TECH INNOVATION CENTER
309 B East Historic Highway 66 Gallup, NM 87311

Sessions on:

  • IP 101 THE IMPORTANCE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROTECTION
  • FROM CONCEPT TO REALITY – STAGES OF INVENTION AND INNOVATION
  • IP AS A GROWTH CATALYST
  • GOVT. AND LOCAL SUPPORT FOR INNOVATORS AND ENTREPRENEURS

TIP-TRIP

Tribal Intellectual Property Road Trip

JUST ANNOUNCED

APRIL 13, 2016

We are looking forward to co-hosting a forum at the Navajo Tech Innovation Center – An Initiative of Navajo Technical University, on April 13, 2016.

We will be holding sessions on:

  • THE IMPORTANCE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROTECTION
  • FROM CONCEPT TO REALITY – STAGES OF INVENTION AND INNOVATION
  • IP AS A GROWTH CATALYST
  • LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL RESOURCES FOR INNOVATORS AND ENTREPRENEURS

For more information on attending this event, call Benjamin Jones, Entrepreneurial Director, Navajo Tech Innovation Center, at 505 905 7813

February 4, 2016.

We had a great visit with the student, faculty and community member at and around the Northwest Indian College.

 

 

 

Information for Inventors and Tribal Businesses

INFORMATION FOR NATIVE INNOVATORS AND INVENTORS

NAIPEC is a non-profit, largely volunteer, or Pro Bono supported organization. Our primary goal is to support the protection of intellectual property (IP) where possible. The projects we take on are dependent on three critical factors:

  • That the inventor or entrepreneur is a registered Tribal Member, and,
  • That the inventor or entrepreneur is willing to invest any profits from the business or invention idea back into the Native American community, and,
  • That the project will substantively help Native American communities through economic development, jobs and wealth creation.

All applicants for assistance from NAIPEC must complete, and comply with NAIPEC’s intake procedure, available upon request.

As part of our charter we help:

1) Individual Native American, or Alaska Native Inventors, who are either:

Verified low-income individuals

and/or

Are willing to share a percentage of revenue gained from the Patent, Trademark, Copyright, or any product derived from it, with a registered Native American, or Alaska Native Tribe.

2) Native American or Alaska Native Tribes

3) Native American or Alaska Native wholly or majority owned businesses

 

IS YOUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ABLE TO BE PROTECTED?

For more information on Patents, Trademarks and Copyright, here are some useful resources:

Patents | USPTO Website

Trademarks | USPTO Website

Copyrights | US Copyright Office Website

PATENTS | QUICK INFORMATION

Who can apply for a patent?

A patent may be applied for only in the name(s) of the actual inventor(s).

What can and cannot be patented?

What can be patented – utility patents are provided for a new, non-obvious and useful:

  • Process
  • Machine
  • Article of manufacture
  • Composition of matter
  • Improvement of any of the above

Note: In addition to utility patents, encompassing one of the categories above, patent protection is available for (1) ornamental design of an article of manufacture or (2) asexually reproduced plant varieties by design and plant patents.

What cannot be patented:

  • Laws of nature
  • Physical phenomena
  • Abstract ideas
  • Literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works (these can be Copyright protected). Go to the Copyright Office .
  • Inventions which are:
    • Not useful (such as perpetual motion machines); or
    • Offensive to public morality

Invention must also be:

  • Novel
  • Non-obvious
  • Adequately described or enabled (for one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention)
  • Claimed by the inventor in clear and definite terms

Copyright Disclosure Form

**Please Note: Because of funding limitations currently, we are not accepting new applications. Please check back at the end of June 2014. Thank you for your understanding**

COPYRIGHT DISCLOSURE FORM

This form is for those wishing to protect some form of original work, or copyright. Copyright is a form of intellectual property law, that protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed.

For more information on what can be copyrighted, please visit the US Copyright office page here>>

Please fill out this form as completely as you can and remember to press the “Send” button when finished.

    Your Name:

    Your Address:


    ,

    Your Phone # :

    Your Email Address:

    Alternate Contact Name:

    Alternate Contact Address:


    ,

    Alternate Contact Phone #:

    Alternate Contact Email:

    Tribal Affiliation:

    What is the best method for contacting you?

    What is the title of your work?

    Do you wish to be listed as the owner of this mark?

    If you selected No, please provide the name and address of all other owners (use a separate sheet if necessary):


    ,

    Are you the sole author of this work?:

    If you selected No, please provide the name, address, and contribution of all authors of this work (use a separate sheet if necessary):


    ,

    How did he/she help create the work?

    Are the author(s) your employees that created the work as part of their employment?

    If the author(s) are not your employees did you hire them for the specific purpose of creating this work?

    Do you have a written agreement regarding the ownership of this work?

    If you selected Yes, please attach a copy of that agreement:

    Describe your work. Attach pictures, videos, diagrams, documents or other items that may help to describe your work:

    What date was your work completed?

    Has your work been publicly displayed or sent to other people?

    If you selected yes, describe the people or business you sent the work to and why.

    As a requirement for assistance, NAIPEC usually requires that the invention benefit a tribe, tribal business, or the Native American community. Describe how the protection or sale of your work will benefit a tribe or the Native American community.

    Invention Disclosure Form

    **Please Note: Because of funding limitations currently, we are not accepting new applications. Please check back at the end of June 2017. Thank you for your understanding**

     

    INVENTION DISCLOSURE FORM This form is for those wishing to protect an invention or process. A patent is a property right granted by the Government of the United States of America to an inventor “to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention throughout the United States or importing the invention into the United States” for a limited time in exchange for public disclosure of the invention when the patent is granted.

    For more information on what can be patented, please visit the USPTO page here>> Please fill out this form as completely as you can and remember to press the “Send” button when finished.

    Please fill out the form below. Fields marked with * are required. The system will also send a copy to your email address.

      Your Name*

      Your Email*

      Your Tribal Affiliation*

      Please give us a short description of you and your invention

      Is your invention a device, a method of doing something, or both?*

      What problem does your invention solve? Why is your invention better than other methods or devices? Why would someone choose to use your invention?*

      Do you know of any devices or methods that already exist that are similar to your invention? If so, please give their name and describe them.*

      How would your invention be used? Who are the type of people that would use it?*

      What are the problems with current methods or devices that your invention would solve?*

      Please describe how your invention works. What are all the parts of your invention and how do they affect each other?*

      Describe how your device or method is used. Provide step-by-step instructions.*

      Have you told anyone else about your invention?*

      Have you built a prototype?*

      Do you have a drawing or plans of the inventions - even a simple sketch? (If so, please upload below)

      Have you ever attempted to sell your invention?

      Did you work with any other people, organizations, or businesses when developing your invention?*

      If yes, describe who they were, what they did to assist you, and any oral or written agreements you had with them regarding your invention.

      Please attach any images, drawing related to your invention.(gif, png, jpg, jpeg, PDF - 2MB Max)

      Please attach any other material related to your invention.

      As a requirement for assistance, NAIPEC usually requires that the invention, or a portion of any proceeds from profits arising out of the invention, benefit a tribe, tribal business, or the Native American community. Describe how the protection or sale of your work will benefit a tribe or the Native American community.*

      Trademark Disclosure Form

      **Please Note: Because of funding limitations currently, we are not accepting new applications. Please check back at the end of June 2014. Thank you for your understanding**

      TRADEMARK DISCLOSURE FORM

      This form is for those wishing to protect a Trademark. This can include a logo, tag line or other mark used in commerce.

      Please fill out this form as completely as you can and remember to press the “Send” button when finished.

        Your Name:

        Your Address:


        ,

        Your Phone # :

        Your Email Address:

        Alternate Contact Name:

        Alternate Contact Address:


        ,

        Alternate Contact Phone #:

        Alternate Contact Email:

        Tribal Affiliation:

        What is the best method for contacting you?

        Is your trademark a logo design, a word, or both?

        If it is a logo, please attach a copy of the logo to this form.

        If it is a word, please write out the word or phrase here:

        Do you wish to be listed as the owner of this mark?

        If you selected No, please provide the name and address of the owner of this mark.


        ,

        If the owner is a business, provide the type of business:

        Which state, if any, is the business registered in:

        Will the trademark be used as the name of a store (e.g. Walmart), or will it be used as the name of a product (e.g. Pepsi)?

        Have you started using the trademark to advertise or sell your product?

        If yes, please provide the date you started using your mark:

        If yes, please describe the circumstances where you have used your mark:

        Describe the business or product you will be using your mark with. Will you be offering a service (such as auto repair or home cleaning) or a good (such as cell phones or apple pies)? How will people be able to purchase your product? Will you open a store, run a website, etc.? How do you plan to advertise your product?

        If you have started using your mark, please provide images showing the mark in use. For goods please provide pictures of your mark on a label, tag, or packaging for your product, or attached directly to the product. For services please provide a picture of advertising for your product.

        As a requirement for assistance, NAIPEC usually requires that the invention benefit a tribe, tribal business, or the Native American community. Describe how the protection or sale of your work will benefit a tribe or the Native American community.