Does making a disclosure with the Innovation Office protect patent rights?

Disclosing to the Innovation Office is not equivalent to filing a patent application and does not directly or automatically protect patent rights. Protection of patent rights is only obtained through filing a formal patent application. The Innovation Office will assess each invention in terms of patentability and commercial potential, in order to determine whether to file a patent application. If the invention is appropriate for patent filing, the Innovation Office works with the inventor(s) and with external law firms to file and prosecute patent applications. The Innovation Office will continue to manage the patent application as long as it is deemed commercially valuable.