FAQ Categories

How much will it cost to become a member?
Membership of HEE is available to all NHS organisations in the East of England, subject to payment of the appropriate membership fees.
What is Health Enterprise East (HEE)?
Health Enterprise East (HEE) is the NHS Innovation Hub for the East of England. It was established with funding from the Department of Health, the Department of Trade and Industry and the East of England Development Agency (EEDA).
Why should your Trust become a member of HEE?
We provide a professional and responsive IP management service for NHS Trusts and their staff, helping them to turn their ideas and innovations into new products and service delivery improvements for the benefit of patient healthcare.

How long will it take to have my innovation assessed?
Once we have all the relevant information, we can work with a professional adviser (e.g. patent agent) to seek the appropriate intellectual property rights protection. This should take no more than a couple of weeks, and once the IP has been assessed and protected you will then be free to make public your innovation (e.g. submitting papers for publication, using your device in a public area and so on).
I've had an idea - what do I do now?
Either talk to your innovation contact (e.g. R&D Manager) as soon as possible to have your idea assessed or you can fill in our one page innovation disclosure form and send it in to our office. We'll treat the information you disclose to us as confidential, and get in touch with you as soon as possible to progress things.
Why is confidentiality important?
Its very important if you have a good idea to seek advice from either your innovation contact or contact us before disclosing your idea to a company, or putting your innovation on public display (e.g. using your device on patients). This is because public disclosure of your innovation prior to seeking protection of the IP can prevent your idea from being protected (e.g. through filing of a patent application).

If you need to talk to a company, make sure you sign a confidentiality agreement (also called a non-disclosure agreement or NDA for short) to protect your ideas until the intellectual property position has been established.

If the Trust owns my IP what happens to any revenue generated from commercial exploitation?
Revenue generated by the successful exploitation of innovations will normally be retained by the individual trust, and shared with the creators of the IP according to the Trusts IP policy.
What is Intellectual Property (IP)?
Intellectual property refers to the outputs of intellectual and creative activity and covers inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images and designs used in commerce. The most common types of IP rights are patents, copyright, design rights, know-how and trademarks.
What is the NHS policy on ownership of IP?
Generally speaking under UK law an employer would be expected to own IP generated by its employees during the course of their normal duties. In 2002 the Department of Health published a Framework and Guidance on the management of IP in the NHS, aimed at encouraging NHS trusts and Primary Care Trusts to capture and exploit new innovations generated by their staff. The Framework also provides advice on the status of independent providers of NHS services, such as general practitioners and dentists.
All NHS bodies are expected to implement policies for the management of IP, including revenue sharing provisions with inventors, in due course. For details of your Trusts IP policy please consult with your innovation contact (e.g. R&D Manager) or contact us for advice.

How do I find out about the technologies you have available for licensing?
We will post some, but not all, of the technologies we have available for licensing on our website. Please contact us for a full list of current opportunities or to discuss your needs.
What can HEE do for us?
Health Enterprise East will provide a focus and portal through which commercial healthcare companies will be able to effectively engage with the NHS. This will include the development of partnerships with the NHS to translate innovations into new products and services for the benefit of patient care.