For a patent there are different rules in different countries relative to public disclosure. Public disclosures include publication, either in print or on the internet, presentations at professional society meetings, technical discussions, casual or formal, with colleagues from other institutions or from companies. In the US a patent application can be filed up to one year after public disclosure; however in most other countries, once a technology is disclosed it cannot be patented.

Once a patent has been filed, publications about the technology are usually beneficial to generate interest; however there are some cases where certain kinds of information should be revealed in only general ways. OTT will assist any inventor with this issue to avoid compromising an inventor's obligation to publish. Copyright to software exists the moment the code is "affixed to tangible media", thus it presents far fewer publication issues. It is UCF's policy to protect the traditional rights of scholars to control the products of their scholarly work.