What is documentation?
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What is documentation? Video Transcript
Why is it important to document an invention? First, documenting the invention helps to prove the conception date; when did you first come up with your idea. It also helps sometimes to prove the first reduction to practice; when was the invention first made into a product. The conception date is important because in the US, it is a first-to-invent system. Ownership rights of an invention are based on the date of invention. So having documented proof in a lab notebook which is ideally witnessed by two people, date stamped and archived in a specific and retrievable location, is important so that later on people can find out when was your actual invention date. If your invention was first made and then a patent application was filed a few months later and someone else in that interim time also filed a patent application, sometimes it is important to prove the date of your invention. The best way to prove the date of your invention is to have proof of that date of invention by a proper lab notebook that is witnessed by two parties, that clearly indicates the time stamped date of invention and discloses exactly how your invention works and how to make and use your invention. It also is important to document your inventions because there are some tax deductions that can be had in the United States based on R&D incentive credits. An accountant or a company accountant could perhaps tell you why it is important to document your ideas and inventions. It can also be used to defeat prior art references. Documenting your inventions, whether or not you file a patent on them, if you disclose them to the world, then you can use these things that you disclose to stop someone else from getting a patent, because if you have disclosed it to the world, someone else may not be able to get a patent because you have previously disclosed it and it is not new anymore. So the granting of a patent helps you exclude others from making and using your invention. But if your main goal is to not let someone else get a patent, you can also simply just document your idea, make it very clear and publish it, like on the web, and make it more difficult or to stop others from getting a patent themselves.