# Invention disclosure template

A blank working aid for inventors and patent professionals preparing a US or other patent draft. Not an official USPTO form or a legal opinion.
Updated: 2026-10-20
Guide and worked example: https://patenttask.com/blog/invention-disclosure-template

Complete this worksheet locally. Downloading this file does not submit information to Patent Task. Use "unknown" for missing facts and identify proposed details separately from confirmed information. This download is Markdown; you may copy its questions and tables into Word or another editor.

## Document control

- Working title:
- Disclosure version and preparation date:
- Technical contact / reviewer:
- Intended drafting jurisdiction and application type, if known:
- Source files, drawing revisions and technical notes included:
- Authorization to share with the intended reviewer or service:
- Known public disclosures, demonstrations or planned publications (record dates and facts for professional review):
- Unresolved ownership, inventorship or timing questions for the responsible professional:

## 1. Technical field and context

- Technical object, intended use and operating environment:
- Users, equipment, inputs and outputs:
- Conditions or limits relevant to operation:

## 2. Existing approach and concrete problem

- How the existing approach works:
- Its observed limitation:
- Observation or test supporting that limitation:
- References actually checked (identifier, passage and source):
- What has not been searched or verified:

## 3. Proposed solution and operating sequence

- Components and their physical relationships, or process steps and conditions:
- What initiates operation:
- How one part or step acts on the next:
- Complete operating sequence and end state:
- Interfaces, triggers, branches, exceptions and release/reset steps where relevant:
- Relationships the inventor considers essential, and the reasons:
- Optional choices and the reasons:

## 4. Confirmed facts and proposed details

Assign source labels only to help locate information; a label is not a legal conclusion about support.

| Source label | Technical statement | Confirmed fact / proposal / unknown | Actual source file and location | Technical confirmation and date |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |

## 5. Implementation details

- Confirmed connections, dimensions, materials, ranges or parameters:
- Source for each value or relationship:
- Assembly, operation or preparation details:
- Actual test conditions and results, if available:
- Known limits or failure conditions:
- Unknown values or connections to clarify:

Do not estimate measurements or invent experiments to fill a field. If a detail is proposed rather than observed or confirmed, label it as proposed.

## 6. Differences, intended effects and evidence

| Described baseline | Changed technical feature | Intended effect | Measured result or expected effect? | Supporting source / missing evidence |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |

## 7. Alternatives

| Variant the inventor can explain | What changes | What remains the same | How the variant works | Evidence / open questions |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |

## 8. Drawings and consistent names

| Existing file or planned view | Version / status | Relationship this view should explain | Component names and reference signs | Open drawing question |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |

- Shared component-name and reference-number register:
- Differences between sketches that need to be resolved:
- Views still planned rather than completed:

## 9. Draft support handoff

Complete draft locations only after the corresponding text or figure exists. A generated claim and a generated supporting paragraph are not independent confirmation of a source fact.

| Technical feature to carry into the draft | Source version and exact location | Current description / claim location, if any | Related figure, if any | Missing fact or review decision |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |

## 10. Questions before drafting

| Question or conflict | Source location | Technical relationship affected | Person to confirm | Answer, source and date |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |

## 11. Handover check

- [ ] Confirmed technical facts, proposals and unknowns are distinguished.
- [ ] Connections and operating steps are understandable.
- [ ] No invented measurements, references or performance results were added.
- [ ] Intended effects are distinguished from measured results.
- [ ] Names agree with the drawing register.
- [ ] Existing figures are distinguished from planned views.
- [ ] Unanswered questions remain visible.
- [ ] Sharing authorization and relevant data-handling terms were checked.
- [ ] The technical reviewer confirmed the stated version.
- [ ] Unresolved professional-review questions are recorded.

Technical confirmation: reviewer / date / disclosure version:

## Related drafting resources

- US drafting workflow: https://patenttask.com/write/us-patent
- US specification, claims, abstract and DOCX guide: https://patenttask.com/blog/us-patent-drafting-guide
- Annotated claims example: https://patenttask.com/blog/patent-claims-example
- Tool evaluation exercise: https://patenttask.com/blog/ai-patent-drafting-tool-evaluation
- USPTO utility application guide: https://www.uspto.gov/patents/basics/apply/utility-patent

The worksheet organizes source material for a draft. It does not establish patentability, adequate legal support or readiness for submission.