IP Intelligence › Ask a Question › I have an invention. Where do I start?
Guided answer
I have an invention. Where do I start?
Four questions that decide what you should do this month.
You are close, but not there yet.
Filing now buys a date for a description that may not support the claims you eventually need. Filing later risks losing the date. The usual answer is to close the technical gap quickly and then file.
- Identify the specific parameters that make it work, and test enough to state ranges.
- If a public event is scheduled, file before it regardless - an imperfect filing beats an unrecoverable disclosure.
- Consider a well-written provisional now and a second one when the mechanism settles.
Read next
This is educational guidance, not personalised legal advice. It cannot see your documents, your dates or the prior art, and those are usually what decide the answer. Use it to understand the question, then take advice on your own facts.
Not sure whether this applies to your invention?
The honest answer usually needs someone to look at your actual disclosure, your timeline and the prior art. That is a conversation, not an article.