Exploring Legal Invention Disclosure

Learn more about Legal Invention Disclosure through a sample workflow and review the benefits it can provide.

Legal Invention Disclosure overview

Legal Invention Disclosure streamlines the process of patent application along with the review process and optional rewards for the inventors. Legal Invention Disclosure is installed when the Legal Simple Intellectual Property plugin is installed.

Legal Invention Disclosure benefits

Table 1. Legal Invention Disclosure benefits

Benefit	Feature	Users
Structured process to create and submit Legal Invention Disclosure requests.	Create a Legal Invention Disclosure request	sn_lg_ip.patent_fulfiller and sn_lg_ops.legal_user
Optional monetary rewards granted to the inventor at selected stages of the patent application process.	Set up optional inventor rewards in Legal Invention Disclosure	sn_lg_ip.patent_fulfiller
Inclusion of outside counsels to review patent application requests.	Set up Outside Firms for Legal Invention Disclosure Set up Outside Counsels for Legal Invention Disclosure

Legal Invention Disclosure workflow

The Legal Invention Disclosure configuration workflow is as follows:

1. Install the Legal Simple Intellectual Property application to automatically install Legal Invention Disclosure.
2. Set up and add outside firms.
3. Set up and add outside counsels from the respective firms.
4. Enable outside counsel.
5. Set up optional inventor rewards.

The Legal Invention Disclosure task workflow is as follows:

1. Inventor creates and submits a Legal Invention Disclosure request.
2. The patent reviewer or fulfiller reviews the request.
3. If any clarifications are required, the patent reviewer or fulfiller sends the request back to the requester, who updates the request and returns it.
4. The fulfiller either approves the application and initiates the filing process or rejects the application and closes the request.
5. The fulfiller creates a matter from the request or adds the request to an existing matter if a similar request already exists.
6. The fulfiller proceeds with the application. After that, as configured, a reward for the inventor is automatically generated and need to be sent to the payroll to process and send to the inventor.
7. Add an outside counsel to the legal matter and enable the patent fulfiller to communicate with the outside counsel for reviewing and processing the Legal Invention Disclosure requests.
8. The fulfiller emails the details of the request to the outside counsel.
9. The outside counsel reviews the request.
10. The outside counsel, after approval, files an application with the patent authority. If the request is not approved, the outside counsel informs the fulfiller and the fulfiller closes the request.
11. The outside counsel responds to the email and provide the details of the patent filing to the fulfiller. The details will be available for the fulfiller in the activity stream to take necessary actions.
12. The fulfiller updates the legal matter with the patent filing information.
13. A Patent Repository record is automatically generated with the relevant patent filing details.
14. If a reward for the inventor has been set up for this stage, it is automatically generated and sent to the inventor.
15. The patent authority reviews the patent request and the outside counsel informs the fulfiller about the result of the review through email.
16. If the patent is granted, the fulfiller updates the legal matter with the patent information and closes the request. The Patent Repository record is automatically updated with the information. If the patent application is rejected, the fulfiller closes the request.
17. If a reward for the inventor has been set up for this stage, it is automatically generated and sent to the inventor.