THE PROBLEM: The Department of Energy (DOE) invests hundreds of millions of dollars in research each year to solve problems that affect the entire nation. This research yields a wealth of intellectual property (IP), including patents and software, that could be used to advance industry and benefit the American public. But these groundbreaking innovations have been dispersed across many repositories, making them so difficult to find that many have never been adopted and deployed. 

THE SOLUTION: Enter Visual Intellectual Property Search (VIPS), a search tool for patents filed and software created across all the DOE national laboratories. VIPS, which was developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and launched in 2024, gives users a visually appealing, interactive, up-to-date, easy-to-use tool. Every week, it automatically collects the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s patent data, the DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information’s software content, and GitHub’s open-source software. 

Through VIPS, tech scouts, entrepreneurs, researchers, faculty members, and business leaders can easily find a comprehensive list of national lab innovations available for licensing or immediate use. Using keywords or visual filters, the tool’s users can discover available offerings, narrow the results by clicking on categories, read abstracts that describe the potential application of the IP, and compare offerings to find the right breakthrough for their needs. The tool also offers easy access to commercialization experts to discuss licensing opportunities and direct links to open-source software that can be used for free. In consultation with Tradespace, Inc., VIPS developed a novel taxonomy that provides richer data and greater search discoverability. The tool updates itself weekly to stay current, providing a pathway for streamlined commercialization and automated reporting. 

THE IMPACT: By March 2025, VIPS contained information on nearly 14,000 patents and more than 6,000 pieces of open-source and proprietary copyrighted software — all conveniently accessible in one place. During the initial communication campaign, VIPS attracted between 500 and 1,800 users per day. Usage has continued at 50 to 100 unique users per day ever since. For example, in one recent two-week period, users reviewed information on more than 350 patents and copyrights, followed links to 14 of the 21 DOE laboratories and federal sites, accessed open-source software repositories more than 30 times, and initiated eight emails to ask about licensing. VIPS helps its target audience access DOE innovations more easily and eliminates the time-consuming process of manually gathering information and populating search engines. VIPS greatly enhances the visibility of DOE and its national labs and encourages collaboration among labs, industry, and academia.