This page describes a custom version of the invention feature. For general information please see this article.
This form is used to enter or display invention disclosures.
The head of the page shows the status of the invention disclosure. The current step is highlighted. The first status is draft. When the draft is saved, the colour gets darker.
The form is available for processing the following items:
Create a new invention disclosure
The form is structured in four parts A to D.
Part A: General information on the invention
This part of the form contains general information like title, number of inventors, partners for the invention and if it has already been published.
Part B: General information on the inventor/s
This section collects information about the inventors. For each contributing inventor the data will be entered in a single tab. The number of contributing inventors is defined in Part A.
The user search field contains all patentGate users. If a user is selected, his data will be filled in the form. If an inventor is not yet a patentGate user, an account can be created for him in the user administration. If the inventor is not an employee, his data can be entered directly into the form and Company is set to “external”.
Part C: Description of the invention
his is the section that contains the most important data: The detailed description of the invention. Please answer the questions 24 to 35 to describe the invention and the advantages of your idea.
Documents concerning the invention, like technical descriptions or drawings, can be uploaded at the end of this section. Please note that the draft must be saved before the upload is possible.
After the button Save draft is clicked, a dialogue is displayed. Users are reminded about the confidentiality of the invention.
To upload a file, click the button Search…. Please enter a comment about the file after the upload. For uploaded documents the following information is displayed: file name, file size, comment, the user who uploaded the file and upload date.
Part D: Description of the market potential of the invention
Part D asks how far the invention is already realised: is it just an idea, an experiment, or exists a sample or prototype?
When all fields are filled out, you can save the draft.
If an invention disclosure has no Reference number, it is still a draft.
Update an invention disclosure
The first column of the invention disclosure list has a button to open the selected invention. When all data for the invention disclosure has been filled in, the document will be sent to the IP department. A question is asked if all data is complete and all inventors have been named.
If the data in the invention disclosure form is incomplete, it can not be sent to the IP department. A message is displayed.
Fields with missing data are highlighted in red. Please check if the data of all inventors is correct. The data must be saved (button Save draft). Then it can be sent again to the IP department.
The invention disclosure must be confirmed by the IP department.
Confirm an invention disclosure
The invention disclosure must be confirmed by the IP department. To do this, open the invention disclosure by clicking the button in the first column.
A user of the IP department can supplement or correct the invention disclosure and save the changes. There are two types of invention disclosures: Service or Limit. The correct type is assigned in this step. Then the Reference no. for the invention disclosure will be created.
After the confirmation an e-mail will be sent from the IP department to the inventors. It contains the Reference no. of the disclosure and other important information about the process.
The state changes to CONFIRMED after the confirmation.
Objection
A member of the IP department can change data in an invention disclosure and save these changes. The button Objection generates an e-mail to the inventor(s) requesting further information, clarifications or additional personal data. The e-mail also contains a link to the invention disclosure in patentGate.
An inventor must confirm the objection and try to resolve the problems mentioned.
After the objection has been remedied, it can be finalised with invention report complete. The status changes to COMPLEMENT_SENT.
When all data is complete and correct, the user of the patent department changes the status to COMPLETED by clicking the button invention report complete.