Page 35 - Mass General Brigham - Innovators Guide 1.1

35 INNO V AT O RS GUIDE | M ASS GENERAL BRIGH AM

4
Disclosing

4 an invention

Completing the Invention Disclosure Form Questions to consider in addressing the novel features of the invention are:

A thoroughly completed Invention Disclosure Form is important for the • The advantages of the invention, as compared to the standard of care, or
invention to proceed quickly. The disclosure typically takes two to three other similar technologies. Whether the invention address any
hours of focused attention to complete. The more comprehensive the unmet needs.
description, with citations, prior art references, market descriptions and • The key technological differences between the invention and the
related, the faster the commercialization process will advance. current standard of care, and/or between the invention and other similar
technologies on the market.
The invention disclosure should thoroughly describe the key concepts of
the invention, often including the following: • Whether the invention is an incremental improvement to existing
technology, or an entirely new technology.
• Overview of invention in lay terms • The scope of the invention. Whether it applies to specific cases or
• The fundamental problem the invention seeks to address generally to a broad class of cases.
• Scientific basis of the invention The invention disclosure should also describe the commercial products
• Stage of development (e.g. conceptual, tested in animal models, etc.) or processes that may be enabled by the invention—i.e. what applications
• Whether the invention is a platform technology that can the basis for might a company develop if they had rights to the invention, what products
multiple products might they sell based on the invention or what products might be blocked
if a particular party had exclusive rights to the invention. If the invention is
The invention disclosure should clearly describe what is new about the a platform technology, such that several products or processes could be
invention, as compared to existing solutions or the standard of care. It is developed from the invention, it is helpful to describe what these individual
useful for the inventor to become familiar with prior art that might compete products might look like.
with or even block the issuance of a patent. A search on the Internet and
through the USPTO search engine (http://patft.uspto.gov/netahtml/PTO/ Finally, it is important to thoroughly list any previous or upcoming public
search-adv.htm) can be done to check if an invention is already in the disclosures of the invention, i.e., if any aspects of the invention have been
public domain. While a quick search is not required or definitive, obvious or will be published in papers, presented at conferences, or discussed with
examples are often easy to find. outside collaborators or company contacts.
The Invention Disclosure Form and instructions are available at the
Innovation website: Invention Disclosure Form (IDF).