Three Levels of Your Idea
Describe your idea at three levels of specificity — from the concrete thing you built to the general principle behind it. A free worksheet for inventors.
Every idea exists at several levels at once: the concrete thing you built, the function it performs, and the general principle underneath. Being able to move between them is how you talk about your invention precisely — with a collaborator, an investor, an attorney, or your future self.
This worksheet walks you through all three, from most specific to most general. It is an articulation exercise, not legal advice, and it never uses claim language.
The Template
The Three Levels
Idea Name
A short, plain-language name for the idea you're describing.
1. Specific Implementation
The most concrete version: what you actually built or sketched. Specific numbers, materials, code, components, environments — the thing that exists, or the thing you'd ship today.
2. What It Does
One step broader: what does the invention DO for a user, without committing to a specific implementation? The function, not the form. Strip the specifics above and see what's left.
3. The General Principle
The broadest defensible version: the underlying idea that holds at the most general level — the pattern someone else might apply differently while still being your invention.
Which Level Matters Most?
Which level is the real value: the specific implementation (this is what I'm shipping) / what it does (the function is the value) / the general principle (the idea is the value) / all three equally? No wrong answer; it orients the conversation.
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.