Technology Transfer Pipeline Tracker: From Disclosure to Licence Free

University inventions stall in inboxes: a disclosure waits for evaluation, an evaluation waits for a patent decision, and nobody can see where anything stands. This free tracker follows inventions from disclosure to licence in one private list, so the pipeline is visible at a glance.

What the tool does

You add inventions with a name, a stage, and an owner, and the tool counts how many sit at each stage: disclosure, evaluation, patenting, marketing, licensed, and revenue. The counts reveal bottlenecks immediately: ten inventions in evaluation and none in marketing means evaluation is the choke point, not deal-making. Everything is stored in your browser, with no account and no institutional data sent anywhere, which suits a small office or a single researcher tracking their own disclosures.

How to use it

Add an invention the day it is disclosed, not when it becomes interesting, since early entries are what make the pipeline honest. Update the stage the moment it changes, and name an owner for every stage, because an invention without an owner is an invention nobody is moving. Review the counts monthly, and for each stuck item ask what single action would move it: a prior-art search, a market call, or a decision meeting. Delete or archive items that are abandoned, so the list reflects live work.

Worked example

A small office tracks six inventions: two in disclosure, two in evaluation, one in patenting, and one licensed. The counts show the pipeline is healthy at the front but thin at the end, which prompts a marketing push for the patented invention rather than more disclosures. Three months later the counts read one in disclosure, one in evaluation, two in patenting, one in marketing, and one in revenue, and the office can report progress to its university with numbers instead of anecdotes.

Reading the results honestly

Stage counts measure movement, not value. An invention can sit in patenting for a year for good reasons, such as a complex filing, while another races to licence and earns nothing. Do not judge a pipeline by its licensed count alone; a single strong licence can matter more than five weak ones. Also remember that stages are simplifications: real inventions loop back, for example returning from marketing to evaluation when a market test disappoints, and the tracker should reflect that honestly.

Honest limits

This is a private list on one device, not a tech transfer management system. It does not handle legal deadlines, patent costs, revenue sharing, or confidential documents, and it does not sync between colleagues. Clearing browser data erases the pipeline, so keep a backup of anything that matters institutionally. For offices managing many inventions with legal deadlines, use a proper system; this tool is for visibility, not compliance.

Practical tips

Hold a short monthly pipeline review using the counts as the agenda, and give every stuck invention a next action and a date. Share a simple summary, not the whole list, with researchers, so they see their invention moving without seeing other people’s confidential items. Celebrate licences publicly within the university, since visible success encourages the next disclosure.

When a pipeline looks full but earns nothing

A pipeline with many inventions and no revenue is not failing; it may simply be young, since the journey from disclosure to licence often takes years. Judge it by movement instead: are items advancing stages each quarter, or are they parked? If items advance but never license, the problem may be market fit, and the office should test demand earlier, before patent costs accumulate. If items never advance, the problem is usually ownership or decision speed, and a monthly review with named owners fixes it faster than any new form or database.

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