Invention Disclosure Form
A comprehensive invention disclosure form for patent intake — conception, disclosure history, inventorship, and the technical description. Free template.
Written for patent practitioners as a work-aid. Not a substitute for professional judgment.
This is the comprehensive version of an invention disclosure — the intake document a patent attorney works from. It leads with the facts that drive filing strategy: conception date, any prior or planned public disclosure, outside collaboration and funding, and inventorship, followed by the technical description and prior-art context.
It is a structured intake aid, not legal advice, and the legal judgments it feeds — patentability, inventorship, filing strategy, deadlines — remain with a licensed patent practitioner. For a lighter, plain-language version, see the Idea Disclosure template.
The Template
Public Disclosure and External Obligations
These facts drive filing strategy and deadlines. Capture them first.
Approximate Conception Date
When was the invention first conceived? Approximate is fine.
Prior Disclosure, Release, Sale, Offer, or Outside Use?
Has the invention (or a product embodying it) been published, presented, released, demoed, sold, offered for sale, or used outside the org? No / Yes / Unsure.
Prior Disclosure / Activity Events
For each: what kind (paper, talk, blog, GitHub release, product launch, demo/beta, vendor discussion, sale/offer, trade show, investor materials, commercial use, other), the date, audience, who disclosed, what was disclosed, whether the invention itself was disclosed, confidentiality status (public / written NDA / expected but no NDA / unknown / internal), any commercial activity, and a link or citation.
Planned Disclosure, Release, Sale, or Offer
Any upcoming public release, publication, demo, sale, or offer — kind and approximate date. Bears on filing deadlines.
Inventorship
Inventors
Each person who contributed to the conception of the claimed invention — name, role, organization, and specific contribution. Contribution to conception (not just funding, management, or reduction to practice) is the test.
Outside Collaboration
Any outside collaborators, joint development, university involvement, or third parties who contributed or may have rights. Yes/No, and details.
Funding
Any government funding, grants, or contracts (Bayh-Dole / march-in implications), or other funding with IP terms.
Invention Description
Invention Title
A descriptive title for the invention (distinct from the document title).
Problem Statement
The technical problem, limitation, or failure mode the invention addresses.
How It Works
The technical solution in enabling detail: components, data, steps, models, parameters, and how they interact. Enough that a person skilled in the art could build it.
Technical Benefit
The technical improvement over prior approaches, and — where possible — its size, with a baseline.
Alternatives / Embodiments
Alternative implementations, configurations, or extensions that should be within scope.
Prior Art and Strategic Context
Known Related Work
Known products, patents, papers, or systems that are related, and how the invention differs. This is factual context; a formal search is counsel's step.
Strategic Importance / Notes
Commercial importance, competitive context, product roadmap ties, or anything else counsel should weigh.
Supporting Materials
Diagrams, figures, benchmark data, code references, specs, or design docs to attach.
Use it in the platform (coming soon)
Our platform will let you fill this in interactively from a linked disclosure and export a finished document. Until it launches, use the template above.
See the Concept Scanner.
Disclaimer. This worksheet is a practitioner work-aid for capturing an attorney's own analysis. Obviously Not is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice; this worksheet and any output are for informational and documentation purposes only, are not legal, patent, patentability, eligibility, non-obviousness, claim-scope, validity, or freedom-to-operate advice, and do not create an attorney-client relationship. All legal judgment, including whether and how to file or argue, remains with a licensed patent practitioner exercising independent professional judgment. Nothing here predicts an outcome at the USPTO or any court.