What is an invention disclosure?

An invention disclosure is a structured record describing an invention — its inventors, conception date, the problem it solves, how it works, what's novel, and whether it has been publicly disclosed. Inventors prepare it to organize their thinking and to brief a patent attorney before drafting an application.

Does public disclosure affect my patent rights?

Yes. In the US, a public disclosure, sale, or offer for sale starts a one-year grace period — you must file within a year or lose the right to patent. Most other countries have no grace period at all, so any public disclosure before filing can immediately forfeit foreign patent rights. Filing before disclosing preserves the most options.

Why does naming the right inventors matter?

US patents must name the actual inventors — those who contributed to conceiving the claimed invention. Naming someone who isn't an inventor, or omitting someone who is, can render a patent invalid or unenforceable, so getting inventorship right from the disclosure stage is important.

Free Tool · Intake

Write your invention disclosure.

Name: PatentBrief
Address: Phoenix, AZ, US
Price range: Free

Before you talk to an attorney, capture the facts that matter: who invented it, when, how it works, what's new — and whether it's been disclosed. That last one starts a one-year clock that can quietly end your patent rights, so we track it for you.

Invention title

Inventors

Date of conception

Problem addressed

Prior / existing solutions

Description — how it works (the core)

Novel features

Variations & alternatives

Has it been publicly disclosed, sold, or offered?

Disclosure completeness70/100

The description is thin. Capture enough detail that a colleague could build it; vague disclosures lead to weak patents.

Disclosure record

INVENTION DISCLOSURE RECORD

Title: Self-Cleaning Solar Panel

INVENTORS

1. Ada Lovelace

2. Grace Hopper

DATE OF CONCEPTION

2026-01-10

PROBLEM ADDRESSED

Dust on desert solar panels cuts output by 20%+, and manual or water-based cleaning is costly and scarce.

PRIOR / EXISTING SOLUTIONS

Robotic brushes and periodic water sprays — expensive, water-intensive, and they can scratch the surface.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A transparent conductive electrode mesh is embedded beneath the cover glass. A controller applies a periodic travelling-wave voltage across the mesh, generating a moving electrostatic field that lifts dust and carries it off the active surface toward the edge, with no water and no moving parts. A photodiode senses reduced output and triggers a cleaning cycle automatically at dawn.

NOVEL FEATURES

Water-free electrostatic cleaning driven by a travelling-wave voltage on an embedded, optically negligible mesh, triggered on measured output loss.

VARIATIONS & ALTERNATIVES

The mesh may be printed or laminated; cleaning may be timed instead of sensor-triggered.

PUBLIC DISCLOSURE STATUS

No public disclosure, sale, or offer to date.

Draft a provisional →Is it patentable? →

A record to organize your thinking and brief an attorney — not a filing or legal advice. Inventorship and disclosure-bar questions are fact-specific; confirm with a patent attorney. PatentBrief is not a law firm.

← All Tools