Idea Disclosure Template
A free, plain-language form to capture a technical idea before you take it to a patent attorney. Read it below, copy it, or download it. Also called an invention disclosure form.
What an idea (invention) disclosure is
An idea disclosure is a structured record of a technical idea: what it is, the problem it solves, how it works, and who helped build it. It is the first step most inventors take before a patent conversation. Filling it in early, in your own words, gives a patent attorney a clear technical starting point and creates a dated record of what you built.
This template uses plain language on purpose. You do not need to know patent vocabulary or decide anything about protection to use it. It is engineering documentation, not legal advice — a patent attorney decides what, if anything, is worth protecting. Work through it top to bottom; fill in what you can. Nothing here needs to be perfect.
The Template
Your Idea
Idea Name
A short working name for the idea (an internal label, not a formal title). Example: "Repository-Aware Model Routing."
In a Sentence or Two
Describe the idea the way you'd tell a colleague what you built and what it does.
The Problem It Solves
What technical problem, bottleneck, inefficiency, failure mode, or limitation does this address? What was hard, slow, or broken before?
How It Works
Explain the technical approach in practical detail: the components, data, rules, models, prompts, thresholds, and how they interact. What happens first, next, and last? What are the key inputs and outputs?
The Broader Idea
Step back from the specific code: what is the reusable technical insight? What would someone need to understand to rebuild this approach in another system? Which parts are essential, and which are just one way to do it?
Other Ways It Could Work
Other ways the same idea could be built, configured, adapted, or extended — alternative architectures, algorithms, models, data sources, workflows, or fallbacks. These need not be built or preferred.
What's Better Because of It
The technical benefits or expected improvements — speed, latency, compute or memory use, accuracy, reliability, security, scalability, cost, developer or user workflow. Measurements help but are not required.
Current Status
Where is this today? (Identified by a scan · Confirmed / prototype · Built, not deployed · Deployed internally · Released to users · Partly built · Deprecated · Unsure)
Where It's Used and Where Else It Could Apply
Where is this idea used today, and where else could the same approach apply? Name the products, features, services, internal tools, or workflows it powers now, plus adjacent areas it could extend to.
Have You Shared It?
Sharing an idea publicly can affect what is possible later. This is factual context only — no legal classification is asked of you.
Shared Outside Your Company? (No / Yes / Unsure)
Has this idea, its code, a demo, a repo, or a product using it been shared, shown, sold, offered, published, or open-sourced outside your organization? Include public and private sharing.
What Was Shared, and Roughly When?
Briefly: what was shared, with whom, roughly when, and whether it was public or kept confidential. Approximate dates are fine.
Any Sharing Planned Soon? (No / Yes / Unsure)
Is any public release, sale, demo, publication, or open-source release planned in the near future? If timing matters, note it here.
Supporting Details
Related Approaches You Know Of
Without searching, list any tools, products, systems, papers, open-source projects, or internal systems you already know about that are related. "None known" is fine.
Who Helped
People who contributed to the idea, design, implementation, testing, or problem-solving — name, role, organization, and contribution. For your records; this does not decide legal inventorship.
Evidence, Examples, or Results
Examples, screenshots, logs, benchmark results, test data, before-and-after outputs, charts, notebooks, or engineering notes that help support the idea.
Other Materials
Diagrams, flowcharts, architecture drawings, whiteboard photos, UI mockups, specs, or design docs that help explain the idea.
Public/Private and Third-Party Materials
Is the related code public or private? Does it use any third-party libraries, APIs, models, datasets, SDKs, or vendor tools? Include names, versions, or licenses if you know them.
Open Questions
Anything unresolved or uncertain — missing data, unclear contributor history, unknown dependencies, or things to raise with your team.
Fill it in automatically (coming soon)
Our platform will let you generate an idea disclosure straight from a code scan — the scanner prefills what it found, you correct and expand it, then export. Until it launches, use the template above.
In the meantime: run the Concept Scanner to surface the distinctive concepts in your code, or read how to write a strong disclosure.
Disclaimer (subject to final review by IP counsel). This template is used solely to document, organize, and describe a technical idea. It and any output are for informational and technical-documentation purposes only and are not a substitute for advice from qualified intellectual property counsel. Use of this template does not constitute legal services or legal, patent, patentability, inventorship, ownership, claim-drafting, filing-strategy, deadline, or freedom-to-operate advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship with Obviously Not. Intellectual-property protection can be time-sensitive: public disclosure, product release, open-source publication, sale, offer for sale, demo, or other external sharing may affect available rights. You are solely responsible for promptly consulting qualified intellectual property counsel about any legal or IP issue.