Intellectual Property / IP@UHH
As an University of Excellence and Flagship University, Universität Hamburg embraces the responsibility to conduct both excellent and socially relevant research and teaching. The guiding principle “Innovating and Cooperating for a Sustainable Future in a Digital Age” underscores the central importance of innovation and cooperation in addressing societal challenges. In line with the vision “IP in the service of society”, Universität Hamburg, as a corporate citizen, contributes through the transfer of intellectual property (IP) to making results and insights from research and teaching accessible to society through concrete (social) innovations.
What we do
Intellectual property is a key aspect of modern research. Whether inventions, patents, software, trademarks, or copyrights, the careful handling of intangible assets makes a significant contribution to the societal and economic impact of academic work.
The Knowledge Exchange Agency of Universität Hamburg supports you in all matters relating to intellectual property — from the initial idea to commercialisation. We manage patent procedures, oversee the UHH IP portfolio, and negotiate IP agreements on behalf of the university.
We provide individual, confidential, and practice-oriented advice — from the initial idea through to the commercialisation of research results.
IP Strategy and IP Policy of Universität Hamburg
UHH adopted its first IP Strategy on 24 February 2026 and simultaneously introduced a new IP Policy. In doing so, UHH is establishing a modern framework for dealing with intellectual property arising from research, teaching, and knowledge exchange.
IP Strategy
Based on the vision “IP in the service of society”, UHH aims to bring academic knowledge more effectively into practical application and thereby increase its societal impact. In addition to commercial exploitation, the IP Strategy explicitly includes open forms of knowledge exchange such as open science, open access, open data, and open-source software. The focus is therefore not on simply increasing the number of intellectual property rights, but on the impact-oriented use of knowledge — for example through collaborations with external partners, spin-offs, or other knowledge exchange formats.
[The IP Strategy in English will be available for download here within the next few days. The German version is already available on the German page.]
IP Policy
Complementing the IP Strategy, the new UHH IP Policy specifies the regulations governing the handling of intellectual property and the resulting potential intellectual property rights. The IP Policy creates transparency and legal certainty in the field of intellectual property for researchers, staff members, and cooperation partners. Different approaches to knowledge exchange can be applied flexibly depending on the project context.
[The IP Policy in English will be available for download here within the next few days. The German version is already available on the German page.]
What is new?
The IP Policy of Universität Hamburg places a clear focus on the impact-oriented use of knowledge rather than on simply increasing the number of intellectual property rights.
In practical terms, this means for the patent sector that new inventions will in future be patented selectively and on a case-by-case basis — for example when a cooperation, a spin-off, or a new research field emerges. At the same time, the policy creates greater transparency and clearer rules for dealing with IP in everyday university practice.
This new approach is also reflected in the invention disclosure form.
Contact IP@UHH
Team Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Rothenbaumchaussee 19
20148 Hamburg
E-Mail: patente"AT"uni-hamburg.de