Map every disclosure channel
Internal development
Record contributors, dates, versions, testing, and ownership obligations.
Suppliers and contractors
Review confidentiality, permitted use, ownership, improvements, and subcontracting before sharing.
Investors and partners
Use a deliberate disclosure package and confirm who may receive it.
Public launch
Inventory demonstrations, sales, offers, websites, videos, trade shows, and crowdfunding.
Patentability and freedom to operate are different
A patentability review asks whether an invention may qualify for patent protection. Freedom-to-operate work asks whether planned commercial activity may implicate someone else’s rights. A filing does not answer the second question.
Prepare a dated decision file
- Describe the invention and alternatives in enough detail for review.
- List every inventor and contributor; do not infer inventorship from job title.
- Record the earliest and planned disclosure, sale, testing, and shipment dates.
- Collect drawings, prototypes, source files, lab notes, and search results.
- Identify countries where protection or manufacture may matter.
- Ask counsel what must happen before the next external disclosure.
Official sources
Use current official records for dates, status, credentials, and filing requirements.