New Technology
Who should be listed in the NTR: Persons who have made a direct, unique and significant contribution to the conception and/or implementation of the innovations should be included as contributors in the NTR. Thus, persons developing or contributing unique solutions to a requirement should be included.
Note that persons generating the requirement for an innovation or those involved in managing the effort, such as coordinating funding and scheduling activities, are not normally included. Anyone performing routine fabrication, testing or software programming at the direction of the individual who conceived the innovative idea should not be listed.
Technology transfer is an important part of NASA's mission. NASA is obligated to take an active role in transferring technology to the private sector and state and local governments for the purposes of commercial and other application of the technology for the national benefit. These technology transfer activities are based on technology developments that are first reported in a New Technology Report (NTR):
Patents – Patent filings by Caltech or NASA are based on innovations reported in an NTR.
Licenses – Licenses to commercial companies are based on innovations reported in an NTR.
Software Release – In most cases, software must first be reported in an NTR before it can be released to other NASA centers, government agencies, or universities.
Space Act Agreements – The identification of related NTRs and associated patents/copyrights are an important part of Space Act Agreements with other government agencies and commercial entities, and can often make the difference in receiving NASA approval for this work.
Reporting your new technology also has other benefits:
Clearance for Publications and Presentations – Having an NTR in place on the technology contained in the clearance request – and clearly identifying this NTR on the clearance request – will help to minimize any delays in this process.
Royalties – Caltech shares 25% of the royalties (after patenting costs) from licenses with the innovators. However, this process starts with an NTR.
Anyone who develops technology at JPL, regardless of the funding source but using JPL facilities, needs to ensure that a new technology report (NTR) is submitted that covers the technology development. This applies not only to JPL full-time employees but to innovators that may have different employee classifications, including:
JPL Full and Part-Time Employees
JPL Affiliates
JPL Collaborators with other institutions
Summer and Part-Time Students (including Interns)
Post-Docs (Caltech, NASA, other educational institutions, etc.)
Visiting Scientists
Subcontractors with no JPL innovators (NTRs will be submitted through the NASA eNTRe system)
Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) innovators (NTRs will be submitted through the NASA eNTRe system)
Keep in mind that the technology development does not have to be directly funded by NASA; funding sources may include (but not limited to):
NASA
Joint projects with other NASA Centers
JPL Institutional Funds (R&TD, DRDF, etc.)
Other government agencies (DOD, DOE, NIH, etc).
Commercial companies
SBIR
STTR
Subcontracts to JPL
If you have any questions on new technology reporting and who should submit, please contact our office, Rani Kamarga at 818-393-7995.
The definition of "new technology" is broader than you think
Any improvement no matter how big or small-can be reported as an NTR. It doesn't matter if you consider it a discovery, an invention, an innovation, or simply an advance in the state of the art. For scientists and engineers, recognizing when you have something reportable can be hard to gauge, since it's easy to feel that you are just doing your job to meet project or program objectives. But it is still important for NASA to know about your work.
It can be difficult to identify when you really have created something new or novel or truly made an improvement. If you created something that works faster or better, is stronger or lighter or more robust, or is cheaper or easier to make, you have an innovation that you may be required to report in an NTR.
The following examples can also help you identify reportable technologies:
New technology, designs, or concepts
New or improved hardware, devices, machines, or prototypes, including at the nano or molecular level.
New or improved methods, assays, analyses, tests, processes, procedures, simulations, testbeds, integration, packaging, encapsulation, or miniaturization methods
New or improved models (including, but not limited to, animals, tissue culture, cellular, molecular, or other biological models)
New materials, compositions of matter, new arrangements of matter (including, but not limited to, synthetic, biological, genomic, proteomic, or molecular arrangements)
New or improved manufacturing or fabrication approaches
New software application or computer program, or even just a few lines of code
New or novel uses or applications of existing technologies
New process, technique, or formula
New way of assembling commercial components
New, modified, or updated software, algorithms, software concepts, simulations, or apps
New or novel uses or applications of existing software-related or computing technologies
Even if it's just an idea for an improvement that has not been built or tested, it is reportable as an NTR.
It's never too early to submit your NTR!
The best time to submit an NTR for your technology is as soon as you realize that you have something new and before you disclose it publicly. It may feel premature to report an idea or innovation before you have been able to vet it or develop a prototype, but the earlier you report it, the easier it will be for NASA to protect it.
No need to wait until the end of the project: Even if there is still more work to do, submit the NTR.
No need to have prototyped or proven the technology: Even if it’s just an idea, submit the NTR.
No need to achieve a certain technology readiness level (TRL): Even if more development is needed, submit the NTR.
No need to wait until it has been used in a NASA project: Even if that decision still needs to be made, submit the NTR.
No need to know whether it can be patented/copyrighted: Submit the NTR (and other required paperwork) and let NASA’s patent counsel figure that out.
Even if you or someone on your project team already disclosed the work, it is still important to submit the NTR. Although you may believe that the invention can no longer be patented due to publication or use bars, you should still report it. Your discovery may still be valuable to other U.S. government agencies, industry partners, or other NASA projects. And in the case of software, it may be protected under copyright regulations. - Better late than never.
An NTR is the first step for Caltech and NASA to make the most of your technology, and you can get started by submitting your NTR through the JPL NTR System.
If your new technology is hardware, click on “New Hardware” on the upper left, and if you are reporting new software, click on “New Software”. The process is generally self-explanatory, but if you have any questions, please call Rani Kamarga at 818-393-7995.
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Please note that videos are not accepted by the patent office, but if you wish to provide them to us, to help us better understand the invention, it is best if they are provided as a link in the NTR form, which we (at JPL) can then access. It is best if videos are not included in any document or slide deck that we might file with the patent office. For example, you might replace a video with a couple of keyframe images that depict the concept of the invention.
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Please provide the original Word or PowerPoint files, not the PDFs, since we often must do some reformatting for the patent application. The exception is published papers, which can be included in PDF format as sent for publication.
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Since the US patent office also has a file size limitation, please compress the files before uploading:
In Word, please do Compress Picture to Web/Screen/Email or "compress to email size" before saving and uploading.
In PowerPoint, please do "compress file size" before saving and uploading.
Persons who have made a direct, unique and significant contribution to the conception and/or implementation of the innovations should be included as contributors in the NTR. Thus, persons developing or contributing unique solutions to a requirement should be included.
Note that persons generating the requirement for an innovation or those involved in managing the effort, such as coordinating funding and scheduling activities, are not normally included. Anyone performing routine fabrication, testing or software programming at the direction of the individual who conceived the innovative idea should not be listed.
Technology transfer is an important part of NASA's mission. NASA is obligated to take an active role in transferring technology to the private sector and state and local governments for the purposes of commercial and other application of the technology for the national benefit. These technology transfer activities are based on technology developments that are first reported in a New Technology Report (NTR):
Patents – Patent filings by Caltech or NASA are based on innovations reported in an NTR.
Licenses – Licenses to commercial companies are based on innovations reported in an NTR.
Software Release – In most cases, software must first be reported in an NTR before it can be released to other NASA centers, government agencies, or universities.
Publication in NASA Tech Briefs Magazine – Selection for publication in NASA Tech Briefs Magazine is made based on technology reported in an NTR.
Space Act Agreements –The identification of related NTRs and associated patents/copyrights are an important part of Space Act Agreements with other government agencies and commercial entities, and can often make the difference in receiving NASA approval for this work.
Reporting your new technology also has other benefits:
Clearance for Publications and Presentations –Having an NTR in place on the technology contained in the clearance request – and clearly identifying this NTR on the clearance request – will help to minimize any delays in this process.
Royalties – Caltech shares 25% of the royalties (after patenting costs) from licenses with the innovators. However, this process starts with an NTR.
Anyone who develops technology at JPL, regardless of the funding source but using JPL facilities, needs to ensure that a new technology report (NTR) is submitted that covers the technology development. This applies not only to JPL full-time employees but to innovators that may have different employee classifications, including:
JPL Full- and Part-Time Employees
JPL Affiliates
JPL Collaborators with other institutions
Summer and Part-Time Students (including Interns)
Post-Docs (Caltech, NASA, other educational institutions, etc.)
Visiting Scientists
Subcontractors with no JPL innovators (NTRs will be submitted through the NASA eNTRe system)
Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) innovators (NTRs will be submitted through the NASA eNTRe system)
Keep in mind that the technology development does not have to be directly funded by NASA; funding sources may include (but not limited to):
NASA
Joint projects with other NASA Centers
JPL Institutional Funds (R&TD, DRDF, etc.)
Other government agencies (DOD, DOE, NIH, etc).
Commercial companies
SBIR
STTR
Subcontracts to JPL
If you have any questions on new technology reporting and who should submit, please contact our office, Rani Kamarga at 818-393-7995.
The definition of "new technology" is broader than you think
Any improvement no matter how big or small-can be reported as an NTR. It doesn't matter if you consider it a discovery, an invention, an innovation, or simply an advance in the state of the art. For scientists and engineers, recognizing when you have something reportable can be hard to gauge, since it's easy to feel that you are just doing your job to meet project or program objectives. But it is still important for NASA to know about your work.
It can be difficult to identify when you really have created something new or novel or truly made an improvement. If you created something that works faster or better, is stronger or lighter or more robust, or is cheaper or easier to make, you have an innovation that you may be required to report in an NTR.
The following examples can also help you identify reportable technologies:
New technology, designs, or concepts
New or improved hardware, devices, machines, or prototypes, including at the nano or molecular level.
New or improved methods, assays, analyses, tests, processes, procedures, simulations, testbeds, integration, packaging, encapsulation, or miniaturization methods
New or improved models (including, but not limited to, animals, tissue culture, cellular, molecular, or other biological models)
New materials, compositions of matter, new arrangements of matter (including, but not limited to, synthetic, biological, genomic, proteomic, or molecular arrangements)
New or improved manufacturing or fabrication approaches
New software application or computer program, or even just a few lines of code
New or novel uses or applications of existing technologies
New process, technique, or formula
New way of assembling commercial components
New, modified, or updated software, algorithms, software concepts, simulations, or apps
New or novel uses or applications of existing software-related or computing technologies
Even if it's just an idea for an improvement that has not been built or tested, it is reportable as an NTR.
never too early to submit your NTR!
The best time to submit an NTR for your technology is as soon as you realize that you have something new and before you disclose it publicly. It may feel premature to report an idea or innovation before you have been able to vet it or develop a prototype, but the earlier you report it, the easier it will be for NASA to protect it.
No need to wait until the end of the project: Even if there is still more work to do, submit the NTR.
No need to have prototyped or proven the technology: Even if it’s just an idea, submit the NTR.
No need to achieve a certain technology readiness level (TRL): Even if more development is needed, submit the NTR.
No need to wait until it has been used in a NASA project: Even if that decision still needs to be made, submit the NTR.
No need to know whether it can be patented/copyrighted: Submit the NTR (and other required paperwork) and let NASA’s patent counsel figure that out.
Even if you or someone on your project team already disclosed the work, it is still important to submit the NTR. Although you may believe that the invention can no longer be patented due to publication or use bars, you should still report it. Your discovery may still be valuable to other U.S. government agencies, industry partners, or other NASA projects. And in the case of software, it may be protected under copyright regulations. - Better late than never.
An NTR is the first step for Caltech and NASA to make the most of your technology
The NTR is the first step in an important process of tracking and identifying novel applications for new technologies. Your improvements, modifications, innovations, and discoveries are valuable assets for Caltech, NASA and the nation. Ensuring that your work has a chance to make a difference in the world begins with the NTR.
NTR submission is simple and quick using JPL's EBIS system, especially when you have all of the needed information handy. After you have filled out the online NTR form, JPL's technology transfer personnel review your submission to ensure it is complete. Approval of the NTR is the final step of the submission process.
Once the NTR is submitted, the Office of Technology Transfer at JPL personnel will make a technical and commercial evaluation of the technology. Decisions will be made regarding possible IP protection (patenting and/or copyrighting), publication in NASA Tech Briefs, NASA Space Act Award possibility and potential for licensing or other technology transfer avenues. These processes often require additional information from the innovators.