Patent support programme

Key dates for 2023/24

(dates subject to change)

Applications open and launch: Thursday 18th April 2024

Application deadline: Tuesday 28th May 2024 at 11.59pm

We encourage you to get in touch or to attend one of our regular IP & Business clinics if you would like to discuss your ideas and projects.

Provides:

• Pre-show advice on how to avoid disclosure and what to present
• Support in identifying what to patent, and then filing a patent through professional patent attorneys
• Funding to cover the initial filing costs
• Automatic shortlisting on InnovationRCA's start-up programme, including a place on the Launchpad summer school

Graduating RCA students with commercial inventions can win patent support to protect their ideas and avoid disclosure at their graduation show. They are provided with patent funding, guidance and commercialisation support. We also welcome applications from RCA alumni.

We expect RCA students receiving patent support to form a start-up and commit a minimum of three working days per week to the project. We expect all students receiving patent support to take part in the Start-up Programme selection process and we will automatically consider your application. You will therefore be given a chance to compete for additional seed funding through the Start-up Programme and InnovationRCA's network. Please see the Start-up Programme page for further terms.

If your project is chosen for a patent protection, the RCA and you will jointly own the intellectual property in the selected work. You will sign a Profit Share agreement which outlines that the profits from licensing will be split 65% (yourself) and 35% (RCA). This Profit Share agreement is intended to be temporary: when you form a company it will be replaced by a new agreement whereby the RCA will become a shareholder with typically 2% to 3% equity in your company (depending on the level of resource and investment made into the project by the RCA – and never more than 5%). Any licensing profits would then revert entirely to your company.