Writing an invention disclosure

Several kinds of written invention disclosure are described and a checklist of their contents (e.g., date of conception, functional description, drawing) is developed. The patentability search disclosure is discussed in particular. In general, disclosures should (1) provide a concise description of the invention, identifying its field of technology, describing its major parts, and telling how it works; (2) state what the inventor believes to be the novel feature and why it is an improvement; (3) clearly label significant parts in an uncluttered drawing; and (4) provide patent or other references to similar or related inventions. Disclosures should not (1) ignore principles of good technical writing; (2) encompass more than one invention; or (3) include extraneous material.