Idea Strength Check
A quick, one-page screen before you commit to a full disclosure. Free worksheet for inventors — your own answers, no grade.
Not every idea is worth a full disclosure write-up. This one-page check helps you decide, by walking through the questions that matter first: what problem it solves, how your approach is better, whether anyone has built the same thing, which protection path you're leaning toward, and whether any of it is already public.
It surfaces your own answers back to you. It does not tell you whether your idea is protectable or what to file — that is a conversation for a patent attorney. It is not legal advice.
The Template
Screening Questions
Idea Name
A short, plain-language name for the idea you're screening.
What Problem Does This Solve?
Capture it in your own words. Don't worry about precision.
How Does Your Idea Address It?
Describe what it does, not how you implemented it. The "what it is" matters more here than the "how it works."
Why Is It Better Than Before?
Cheaper, faster, smaller, safer, more accurate? Be specific.
Has Anyone Built This Exact Thing?
Search blogs, GitHub, published papers, related research. If you find something close, note how yours differs — that's still useful.
Which Protection Path Are You Leaning Toward?
Pursue patent protection / keep as a trade secret / publish publicly so nobody else can patent it / not pursuing / undecided. Orients your journey; you can change it later.
Is Any Part Already Public?
Already public (talk, blog, GitHub release, paper, demo, public alpha) / still confidential / planned to be public soon / unsure. Counsel uses this to assess timing if you file.
Approximate Disclosure Month (if any)
If public or planned, roughly when (e.g. "October 2025" or "Q1 next year"). Free text.
Approximate Conception Month
Roughly when did you first conceive of this idea (e.g. "early 2024")? Useful context for later inventorship discussions.
Use it in the platform (coming soon)
Our platform will let you fill this in interactively straight from a code scan and export a finished document. Until it launches, use the template above.
See the Concept Scanner or 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.