How to Submit Your Innovation

An online innovation submission system enables us to manage this process efficiently, accurately gather all the key information needed for review, and respond to submitters in a timely manner. We are committed to ensuring that innovations are reviewed by the right individuals across our Company as quickly as possible.

We need a clear, concise description that conveys the nature of the innovation and the unique features and benefits it offers relative to existing solutions, and the status of your intellectual property.

Our web portal enables you to attach supporting documents to your submission. If you have a granted patent or published patent application, please attach a copy. It is also helpful to provide the results of any safety, consumer, efficacy, or other relevant testing. Technical illustrations and photos may also be of help.

Remember, all information submitted must be non-confidential. Do not submit confidential information. We will not review any documents that are marked ‘Confidential’ or the equivalent. The documents will be deleted from our portal, and the submission will be declined.

Patents and other forms of intellectual property are used to establish ownership, and protect the legal rights of the owners of various kinds of innovations and works. For your protection and ours, we may decline to review your open innovation submission if it appears to lack intellectual property protection.

P&G cannot advise you on whether or not to pursue a patent or other form of intellectual property protection. For more information regarding the nature of intellectual property and its uses, you may wish to consult your legal representative or appropriate government agencies, for example, the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

No. P&G will only consider non-confidential information for its initial review of your submission. If after our initial review of a submission, we find that we may have interest in learning more, we will contact you to discuss how to proceed and any needed agreements.

Our initial review is based wholly on the non-confidential information you provide in your open innovation submission. Face-to-face meetings, phone conferences, or live demonstrations are typically not required at this stage.

It may take between three and eight weeks for our initial review. In the event that we need additional information or samples, we will contact you.

In the meantime, we ask that you be patient and not contact our executives or other employees regarding your submission. Even if you have not yet heard from us, we are working on it!

Each innovation is reviewed by a Connect + Develop team member who determines how to route it to ensure it reaches the relevant business and/or technical personnel within our Company. In many cases, this means review by multiple P&G organizations to evaluate technical merit or strategic business fit for P&G.

We are committed to reaching a decision as quickly as possible. However, a thorough initial review, especially of a technology innovation, may take as long as eight weeks to complete.

Compensation is an important component of any business deal. Value is determined through discussions between P&G and the party which controls the rights to the intellectual property and its practice. Each deal is evaluated on its own merits. As a result, there is no standard amount.

The type of business relationship that might result from a submission of interest could take a variety of forms, depending upon the specifics of the innovation and both the potential partner's and P&G's needs. This may take the form of a licensing or supply agreement, or other type of collaborative venture.

We realize that those who submit to the open innovation portal desire feedback, including the reasons why we may decide to decline an opportunity. However, we are typically not at liberty to give detailed reasons. Generally speaking, submissions are most frequently declined for one or more of the following reasons:

• The proposed solution is already known to us.
• We already have work in progress in the area encompassed by the submission.
• The opportunity is not a strategic match with where we want to take our businesses or brands.
• The size of the opportunity does not fit with our business plans.
• There is a lack of protectable intellectual property associated with the submission.

P&G uses this information to communicate with you about your submission. It is not used for any other purpose, nor is it shared with any third parties unless you have expressly indicated your agreement for us to do so.