Patent & Invention Disclosure Policy

1) Purpose and Scope

Sets procedures for disclosure, protection, and management of patents/inventions arising from work or use of Tanqory resources.
Applies to employees, contractors, consultants, researchers, and partners with R&D/joint development agreements or working on Tanqory projects.
Covers inventions, software, algorithms, AI models, hardware, designs, code, and trade secrets.
Supports responsible innovation, protects company IP rights, and respects third‑party rights.
Anchored to patent laws in relevant jurisdictions (e.g., Singapore Patents Act; US first‑to‑file and duty of candor under 37 C.F.R.; EU/CN no grace period), and Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) where used.
Aligned with applicable IP laws and employment/consultant/partner contracts.
No public disclosure before filing/evaluating patents to avoid loss of rights.
Note: most jurisdictions (EU/CN) have zero or limited grace period; US has limited grace under 35 U.S.C. §102(b)(1)—treat “no disclosure pre‑filing” as a hard rule.
Use of third‑party data/code must have proper rights and not violate licenses.
Use of AI training data/weights must respect data licensing and privacy/ethics requirements; treat AI models, datasets, and prompts as potential trade secrets unless cleared for disclosure.
Policy may be updated with legal/practice changes; notice via durable medium.
Read with IP Policy, Confidentiality/NDAs, Open Source Policy, and Code of Conduct.
Managers/project leads must help teams identify and disclose inventions promptly.

2) Invention Disclosure (IDF)

Inventors must submit an Invention Disclosure Form (IDF) to ip@tanqory.com promptly upon a potential idea/invention.
Include: invention title, all inventors, date conceived, technical summary, problem solved, results/benefits, any external data/code used, any past/planned publications.
Disclose before submitting papers/blog posts/conference talks/open‑sourcing to assess patent impact.
IDFs are reviewed by IP/Legal and internal technical experts for novelty, inventive step, industrial applicability, and filing strategy.
Additional info or prototypes may be requested; keep lab notebooks/repos/evidence systematically.
List all contributors accurately for legal inventorship.
If collaboration is involved, attach agreements (NDA/JDA/SOW) to assess joint rights/IP allocation.
All IDFs must be recorded and tracked (screen/file/decline/keep as trade secret) in the IP system.
Do not share invention details beyond need‑to‑know before IP decisions.
Late/incomplete disclosure may impair patent rights and violate policy.
Standard SLA: acknowledge IDF within 5 business days; initial decision (file/trade secret/defensive publish/no action) within 30 days where feasible; publications/release reviews should be submitted ≥30 days before public disclosure.

3) Evaluation, Filing, and Protection

IP/Legal evaluates IDFs for novelty, inventive step, business value, product strategy, and cost/benefit of filing.
Decisions: file patent, keep as trade secret, defensive publication, or no action.
Select filing jurisdictions by market/product strategy (e.g., SG/US/EU/CN) and budget.
For PCT/Provisional, inventors must collaborate on materials/artwork/descriptions and review drafts pre‑filing.
Name inventors per legal facts (not rank) and sign required documents.
Maintain confidentiality during filing/prosecution; avoid disclosures before filing that affect novelty.
Track deadlines (priority, national phase, office actions) and provide technical answers to patent counsel.
Consider FTO for related products to reduce infringement risk.
Plan maintenance/annuity budgets and review the portfolio periodically.
Significant code/feature changes post‑filing may require updates/new filings—notify IP. Maintain timestamped evidence (e‑lab notebooks with audit trail, signed commits, dated design docs) to support inventorship and derivation defenses.
Preserve privilege and centralize communications on any third‑party assertions; do not admit liability without Legal; follow inbound notice handling playbook.

4) Publications, Research, and Open Source

Before publishing papers/research/blogs/slides or speaking at conferences, send drafts to ip@tanqory.com/Legal to assess patent/trade‑secret impact.
Do not publish critical, unfiled patent information if it risks novelty.
Open‑sourcing code/external releases must follow the Open Source Policy, including license choice and third‑party IP checks.
When using/modifying OSS or external libraries, review license terms and compatibility with business model/patent strategy.
Joint research with universities/partners requires clear NDA/JDA/IP‑share agreements before starting.
Avoid disclosing customer data/personal data/company secrets in publications.
Use internal tools/platforms to store drafts and limit access to need‑to‑know.
Credit collaborators accurately and ensure no third‑party rights are infringed (images/data/code).
If defensive publication is needed, consult IP/Legal for proper channel/timing.
Keep copies of publications as evidence for future reference. For OSS with copyleft or patent clauses, obtain OSS review clearance before release; avoid licenses that conflict with planned patent filings or product licensing without approval.

5) Rights, Ownership, and Compensation

IP developed with company resources/time or under Tanqory contracts belongs to Tanqory unless otherwise in writing.
Inventors must sign assignments and patent documents required by law.
If partner/client contracts set IP structure, follow them and consult Legal if unsure.
Company may offer rewards/recognition for filings/grants; see HR/internal policies.
Inventor listing in patent applications must reflect actual contribution per law, not position.
For joint IP with partners, have clear agreements on sharing/usage, including data/code use limits.
Do not use company IP in personal projects or for personal gain without authorization.
Patent licensing revenue/fees handled per finance/accounting policy and disclosed per applicable accounting rules.
IP violations by employees/consultants may lead to disciplinary and legal action.
Report IP ownership disputes to Legal/HR and suspend IP use until resolved.
Follow retention/legal hold requirements for IDFs, lab notebooks, correspondence, drafts, and evidence per Retention Policy when litigation or holds apply.
Reference HR/Rewards policy for inventor incentives; communicate eligibility and process transparently.

6) Monitoring, Maintenance, and Enforcement

IP team monitors the patent portfolio, maintenance/annuity fees, and assigns portfolio owners by product line.
Periodically assess patent value/relevance and consider pruning/selling/abandoning if off‑strategy.
Monitor third‑party use/infringement (landscape monitoring/alerts) and evaluate enforcement or cross‑license options.
For clear infringement, gather evidence (products, code, ads) and notify Legal for action (notice, negotiation, litigation).
If receiving third‑party patent notices, notify Legal immediately and avoid uncoordinated responses.
Update IP database upon status changes (filed/granted/rejected/withdrawn/expired) and inform relevant teams.
Track contractual IP terms (licenses/cross‑licenses/royalties) and meet required timelines/reporting.
Maintain proof of licenses/contracts for any external data/code to avoid disputes.
Conduct periodic FTO for key products, especially before major launches/new markets.
Work with external patent counsel/experts to optimize filing/enforcement. For inbound assertions: route all notices to Legal; do not respond substantively without counsel; preserve relevant documents and suspend auto‑deletion under legal hold.

7) Training, Communication, and Improvement

Relevant employees/developers must attend IP/patent/OSS/confidential information training per schedule.
Publish IDF procedures, forms, and contacts (ip@tanqory.com) on intranet for easy access.
Share lessons/cases (e.g., loss of rights due to pre‑filing disclosure) to raise awareness.
Update IP guides/policies when laws/practices change; notify staff via durable medium.
Provide FAQ/templates for IDF, NDA/JDA, and OSS guidance to reduce disclosure delays.
Collect feedback from research/engineering to streamline and tailor processes.
Review KPIs (IDF count, filings, response times) to measure process effectiveness.
Assign IP champions in key teams to help gather/track disclosures.
Promote responsible innovation with data/AI ethics in mind.
Record evidence of training/communications/disclosures per the Retention Policy.

---

8) Additional Governance and Best Practices

• Duty of candor (US context): When prosecuting in the US, all individuals substantively involved (including inventors and in‑house counsel) must disclose known prior art/material information to the USPTO under 37 C.F.R. §1.56. Maintain an internal prior‑art log and share with outside counsel to avoid inequitable conduct risks.
• Grace period awareness: Treat public disclosures as disallowed. If an inadvertent disclosure occurs, notify Legal immediately. Limited US grace (35 U.S.C. §102(b)(1)) may preserve rights; most jurisdictions (e.g., EP/CN) provide none.
• Invention harvesting cadence: Hold quarterly reviews per product line (R&D + product + legal) to surface patentable items early, align with roadmap milestones, and decide patent vs. trade secret vs. defensive publication.
• Defensive publication playbook: For non‑core inventions or where filing is not cost‑effective, coordinate with Legal on venue (e.g., IP.com, arXiv, corporate blog with timestamp) and ensure sufficient detail to block later patents without revealing crown‑jewel trade secrets.
• Trade secret hygiene: For inventions kept as trade secrets (e.g., model weights, feature flags, ranking signals), enforce access controls (least privilege), encryption, logging, marking (“Confidential/Trade Secret”), and onboarding/offboarding reminders; audit access at least twice yearly.
• AI/ML specifics: Maintain lineage for datasets, prompts, feature stores, model versions, and training code. Avoid ingesting data with restrictive licenses or personal data lacking lawful basis. Document evaluations for bias/robustness and note any safety constraints that could affect patent scope or publication.
• Third‑party code/data approvals: Any incorporation of external SDKs, libraries, or datasets into an inventive feature must include license review (copyleft, field‑of‑use, patent clauses) and data-rights checks before filing. Keep evidence of approvals in the IDF record.
• Retention and legal hold: When a legal hold is issued (e.g., litigation, inbound assertion), suspend auto‑deletion for IDFs, lab notes, emails, chat threads, repos, and publication drafts. Coordinate with IT/Records to tag and preserve relevant sources.
• Secure collaboration: Use approved repositories with MFA and branch protections; avoid emailing code snippets or sharing via personal storage. For shared research with partners, use segregated spaces and ensure NDAs/JDAs are fully executed before access.
• Metrics and continual improvement: Track cycle times (IDF submission to decision; decision to filing), cost per filing, allowance rate, and FTO completion rate. Review KPIs in quarterly IP steering meetings and adjust process/resources.
• Training depth: Provide role‑based modules: (a) engineers/researchers—IDF quality, OSS/patent interplay, disclosure pitfalls; (b) PMs—roadmap vs. patent timing; (c) leadership—portfolio strategy and cost/risk. Refresh annually or when major legal changes occur.
• Crisis handling: For urgent releases with potential novelty impact (e.g., launch events), escalate to Legal for rapid patentability triage and possible provisional filing within hours; maintain an emergency contact list.
• M&A/readiness: For due diligence, keep a clean IP register (status, jurisdictions, expiration, encumbrances), inventor assignments, and third‑party licenses. Remediate any gaps (missing assignments, expired maintenance) promptly.
• Inbound notice protocol: Route all third‑party patent letters/claims to Legal; acknowledge receipt only as directed; avoid technical admissions; collect accused product versions, dates, and logs; pause related marketing claims until strategy is set.
• Government/standards participation: If contributing to standards bodies, coordinate with Legal on IPR policies (RAND/FRAND), disclosure obligations, and patent pledges to avoid unintended encumbrances.
• Documentation quality: For each filed case, maintain a concise “prosecution packet” (problem/solution, embodiments, drawings, prior art considered, claim chart vs. product) to aid future continuations, enforcement, or defensive positioning.
• Exit/offboarding: Remind departing inventors of confidentiality and assignment obligations; ensure handoff of lab notebooks/repos; revoke access promptly.
• Cross‑functional alignment: IP strategy should align with product GTM, security posture, privacy requirements, and regulatory timelines (e.g., AI Act conformity assessments) to avoid conflicts between filing, disclosure, and compliance milestones.

Version History