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An inventor's notebook keeps a record of the development of an invention including the date of the idea's conception. It serves as proof for working diligence and being the "first-to-invent". There are many guidelines and content tips in this section to assist Stevens students and faculty in inventing new technological advancements that embody the Stevens legacy.
The United States patent system rewards only the first person to think of the idea. Patents are awarded to the first person to invent, not the first applicant, therefore, an applicant's ability to obtain a patent for an invention may often depend upon how well they document their invention. Even if someone else files a patent for the same idea prior to your claim, if you can prove that you were the first person that invented it and you have the proper records of your ongoing work, the patent will be awarded to you. But you have to prove that you were the first to conceive and invent. The inventor's notebook becomes a legal document that can help you provide evidence to the USPTO and civil courts when disputing "first-to-invent" rights as well as the required proof of diligence for patent recognition.
The notebook should be started as soon as you think of an idea for invention. The date of "conception" should clearly be stated, this could potentially prove in the court of law that you were the first person to think of this product. If you have more then one idea, you should keep different notebooks for each.
The conception date may be relied upon as the date of invention for determining patentability and priority only if the inventor exercised due diligence in reducing the invention to practice. This is accomplished by the inventor exercising continuous activity from before the reduction to practice date of another invention to the date of reduction to practice.
Reduction-to-practice may be accomplished by either:
(i) filing a patent application, or (ii) constructing a prototype.
Continuous activity does not mean the inventor has to work on the invention every waking minute.
To establish diligence, the person must account for the entire critical period from the time just prior to another's conception. In determining priority, there is no race of diligence. The first to reduce to practice prevails regardless of lack of diligence unless the second to reduce to practice shows sufficient diligence. A well kept notebook of conception and subsequent development will add considerable strength to an inventor’s case in filing for a patent. The inventor’s notebook is one of the best ways of establishing intellectual property ownership. Since the United States grants the right to patent to the first to invent, it is extremely important to establish the date conception and due diligence in reducing the idea to practice. In order to make valid claims, the inventor's notebook should be organized in a fashion that best leaves out any chance of fraudulent activity.
You must be very diligent about making entries in a timely fashion, since this document may be the only concrete proof that an in has to claim an idea. Record your date of original conception then keep a detailed record of your invention activities as you develop your ideas into reality. This is called "reduction to practice' in legalese.
An inventor's notebook, can be any type of bound notebook. The official inventing log book could cost between $10 and $30. These books will include everything you might need, page numbers, grids and even places for signatures. A cheaper version of the notebook is a composition style notebook which costs under $5 and is available in any office supply store. After purchasing a notebook like that,its a good idea to immediately number all of the pages, on both the fronts and the backs of each page. These are the only types of notebooks that will ever hold in the court of all because it is impossible to rip pages out without detection. | How do I Certify the Notebook? | |
Once the summary information has been entered, have a credible witness read and sign at the bottom of the last entry with the current date. Never backdate a notebook entry. The courts look for errors and any backdating may be cause for the whole book to be discarded as evidence. A credible, reliable, and trustworthy witness should be chosen based on their knowledge and their ability to readily understand the concepts and principles you have presented. In general witnesses should not be co-inventors, family members or a Notary public. It should be noted that mailing yourself a sealed letter with invention documents enclosed is not an accepted method of proving your invention's conception date for United States Patent & Trademark Office. Computer files do not provide sufficient evidence of invention. The reason for having invention records such as a notebook is to be able to prove the earliest date of invention. Since computer records can be updated and changed at will, and their dates are subject to tampering, they cannot serve as evidence that their content was created at a particular time. With a bound notebook, it is clear that the work occurred in a particular sequence and was witnessed by others. Also, scientific experiments can be conducted on the ink and paper in a notebook to prove their age.
If bound notebooks have not been kept, written invention disclosure forms submitted by the inventors to their intellectual property departments may be the best available evidence. Therefore, there should be a complete description of the invention, dated and signed by the inventor. The work should also be witnessed, as soon as possible, by someone capable of understanding the invention. | International Patent Claims | |
It may be difficult and somewhat expensive for organizations to maintain invention records in a bound notebook. As a result, this procedure may not be followed in many cases. Nevertheless, the new statute provides benefits to foreign inventors by at least allowing them to prove dates of invention as early as the submission of disclosures to their organization's intellectual property department or domestic patent agents.
The United States laws implementing the general agreement on tariffs and trade (GATT) came into force on June 8, 1995. As a result, as of January 1, 1996, it has been possible for foreign inventors to establish a date of invention in a U.S. patent application by reference to knowledge or use of the invention in a foreign country which is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO.)
Some factors which reduce the value or credibility of your laboratory notebook:
- illegible entries are totally worthless;
- unsigned or undated pages are almost totally worthless;
- notebook pages which have not been witnessed are almost as bad as unsigned and undated pages;
- a long delay between the signing of the page by the inventor and the witness raises questions;
- consecutive notebook pages which are not dated in chronological order raise questions;
- missing notebook pages raise questions;
- erasures and deletions raise questions -- instead, any later discovered mistakes should be corrected and explained on the next available blank page, referencing the page with the mistake.
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- Must be a bound sewn book. DO NOT use looseleaf or spiral bound notebooks.
- Must NOT have torn out pages. Do NOT add pages.
- Blank pages should have a line through them to prove that backdated entries have not been made.
- Include a title and a description of all significant features of the invention including its purpose.
- Prooving diligence is extremely important. Accurate, up-to-date and timely entries must be kept. A lack of diligence has been proved with delays in entries in as little as two weeks.
- The notebook as a whole, should be read and signed by a credible witness at regular intervals as well as reviewed in totality with the signatures by at least two witnesses upon completion.
- Each idea/invention should have its own unique notebook.
- Only one author per notebook.
- Should be kept in a fireproof place.
- Multiple notebooks should be numbered consecutively.
- The value of an entry into a bound notebook is directly proportional (i) to the specificity of the entry, (ii) to the care taken to date and sign each entry, and (iii) to whether each entry was read, signed and dated by a witness.
- Should be signed with the inventor's full name and date. The witness should not be a direct contributor to the work nor a family member. In the format: I have read the above entry and understand how it works...
- Date
- Project/Subject
- Participant(s)
- and Witness(es) Signatures
- Every page must be numbered.
- Writing should be legible, complete and in ink. It should be detailed and self explanatory.
- All activities entered in chronological order.
- Record all work previous to the starting date.
- Write from one edge of the page to the other. Finish empty spaces with a wavy line. If an additional entry is made between the initial and final pages, that entry should identify its corrected chronological order.
- Cross out mistakes with a diagonal line, DO NOT erase, DO NOT scribble over mistakes. Initial and date the correction.
- No entry should be changed after it has been signed. If you need to make a correction or add new information, create a new entry.
- Include hand drawn sketches with 3D views, top view, side view, or sectional views.
- Describe ALL tests performed both the failures and the successes.
- Define an objective for the experiment along with detailed ideas, calculations and experimental results contemporaneously with the actual work; beginning with the first and each subsequent day.
- DO NOT use abbreviations, code names or product codes without defining them clearly.
- You should record all relevant facts such as a conclusion of test results, equipment used, conditions, times, materials (including sources and data), standard procedures, all other inventors(participants) who made significant contributions to the concept of the invention EXCLUDING financial support or technicians (those who did not contribute significant inventive ideas but who made parts or built prototypes.)
- List all participants and their roles. This proves who can be named as inventor(s) on a patent application. If you omit any inventor's name from your patent application it is considered fraud.
- It is important that all loose papers, such as drawings, test results, photographs of models, etc., be signed and dated, cross referenced to a particular notebook entry, and preferably, then mounted (taped or stapled) in the body of the appropriate notebook entry. Similarly, physical objects used to carry out various tests, such as samples, models, prototypes and the like, should be labeled with an identifier and date, cross referenced to the notebook, and retained.
- Build a prototype and document how and when you made each version of it. Paste a copy of all receipts for purchase materials with a description of use as well as any photos or drawings or test results, dated and witnessed.
- Include notes from conversations and the names of people with whom you discussed your invention.
- Keep a catalog. If you apply for a patent you must tell the PTO about other inventions and furnish a copy of the catalog page, article, patent, etc. where these inventions are shown.
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