The University of Cincinnati approached FirstLink to understand the IP opportunity for a new treatment of brain tumors.

FirstLink conducted an IP landscape assessment, including prior art search, identification of relevant patents, and assessment of relevant patents.

Outcome

This assessment uncovered that prior art covered the usage of the proposed treatment mechanism for the treatment of other types of tumors. It also found that prior art made mention of the potential for future research focusing on using the treatment mechanism in the treatment of brain tumors, which would impact the novelty of the invention being examined. Therefore, UC had to reexamine its IP strategy and did not waste valuable dollars trying to patent an invention that would have likely been viewed as not meeting the novelty criteria for patenting.