How to write a disclosure that counts
Write it so that a skilled person in your field could build or carry out the invention from your text and drawings alone, and so that an examiner searching by keywords and patent classes would find it. That means: the problem, the parts or steps and how they connect, materials and dimension ranges, at least one worked example, the variants you can think of, clear drawings, and an English title and summary.
The principle: only what you describe is protected
A publication blocks later patents only for what it actually discloses. "A better bicycle hinge" blocks almost nothing. "A hinge where a spring-loaded lever drops into a notch in the second plate, with the spring force between 50 and 150 N" blocks that solution and its obvious close variants. Every useful detail you add widens what stays free.
Checklist
- Title: short and specific, like a patent title. "Spring-loaded locking hinge for a folding bicycle frame", not "Smart hinge".
- Problem: what goes wrong today, in two to four sentences.
- Description: every part or step, how they connect or follow each other, and how it works.
- Materials and numbers: materials that work, and dimensions, forces, temperatures or times as ranges ("between 2 and 5 mm").
- At least one worked example with real values.
- Variants: other materials, shapes, mechanisms, control methods, uses in other fields. Each variant described is published too.
- Drawings: simple line drawings with numbered parts, and a sentence for each figure.
- English title and summary if the original is in another language.
- Classes and references: patent classes and the closest patents or articles you know.
What to leave out
- Personal data: no names, addresses, phone numbers or photos of people in the text or drawings.
- Anything confidential that belongs to an employer, client or partner.
- Marketing language: "revolutionary" and "the best" add nothing; technical facts do.
- Other people's text or drawings copied without permission.
Questions
How long should a disclosure be?
As long as it takes to explain the invention fully. A few hundred words with good drawings can be enough for a simple mechanical idea; complex inventions need more. Open Prior Art requires at least 80 words of detailed description.
Can I write in my own language?
Yes. The original can be in any language. Add an English title and summary so examiners can find it, and you can add your own versions in other languages.
Does the AI write the disclosure for me?
No. Open Prior Art's completeness check only points out gaps, as questions. Every word and drawing must be your own.