---
title: "Invention disclosure and confidentiality record (before a patent filing)"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/precedents/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/invention-disclosure-and-confidentiality-record"
type: "precedent"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "a23-invention-disclosure-and-confidentiality-record"
area_id: "A23"
kind: "form"
ai_level: "yellow"
version: 1
task_ids: ["A23-T1-R2", "A23-B15-2", "A23-B1-1"]
law_stated_as_at: "2026-10-18"
---

# Invention disclosure and confidentiality record (before a patent filing)

> A form inventors complete before a patent application: the problem and solution, how it works and variations, contributors and their employers, AI tools used, prior art known, every disclosure made or planned, and the…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/precedents/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/invention-disclosure-and-confidentiality-record  
Law stated as at: 2026-10-18

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

A form inventors complete before a patent application: the problem and solution, how it works and variations, contributors and their employers, AI tools used, prior art known, every disclosure made or planned, and the confidentiality steps, with the 12-month grace period check.

## Key facts

- Kind: Form. A form to complete, or a guide to completing an official one.
- Practice area: [Intellectual Property — Patents, Trade Marks, Copyright, Designs](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs.md)
- Jurisdictions: Australia
- AI level: Yellow. AI can help in set ways. A lawyer checks specific points before use.
- Law stated as at: 2026-10-18
- Status: Maintained. Checked on 2026-10-18 against the 2 authorities it cites, for Australia.

## When to use it

Use as soon as an employee, researcher or founder thinks they have something patentable, and before any pitch, publication, conference, sale or demonstration. It gives the patent attorney what they need for a provisional or complete application and records who contributed.

## Used for these tasks

- [Draft a patent specification from the inventor disclosure](https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs.md#A23-T1-R2)
- [Prepare a patent search brief from the inventor's disclosure without stating that the invention is patentable](https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs.md#A23-B15-2)
- [Check named inventors on an AI-assisted patent application](https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/check-named-inventors-on-an-ai-assisted-patent-application.md)

## How AI may be used

AI may help inventors organise their description, figures and disclosure history into the form inside the approved environment; the patent attorney or lawyer decides inventorship, the effect of any disclosure and the filing strategy.

**AI may:**

- Organise the inventors' notes, drawings and lab or code records into the form's sections
- Build the disclosure history table from emails, slide decks and event registrations supplied
- Flag any disclosure within the last 12 months and any planned disclosure before filing

**AI must not:**

- Must not be given the invention in a tool outside the approved, confidential environment, because that may itself be a disclosure risk
- Must not decide who is an inventor or whether the invention is new or inventive
- Must not decide that a disclosure is covered by the grace period

**The lawyer checks:**

- Inventors identified by contribution to the inventive concept, and any AI contribution recorded and considered
- Ownership traced: employment contracts, university or collaboration IP policies, contractor agreements
- Every past disclosure assessed, and filing timed inside the grace period and before any planned disclosure, with overseas filing plans considered
- Confidentiality agreements in place with everyone who has seen the invention

## Authorities

- [Patents Act 1990 (Cth) s 24 (information made publicly available in prescribed circumstances disregarded for novelty and inventive step if a complete application is made within the prescribed period)](https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdb/au/legis/cth/consol_act/pa1990109/s24.html)
- [IP Australia, What to consider before applying for a patent (keep the invention secret; 12-month grace period; not all countries offer a grace period)](https://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/patents/how-to-apply-for-a-standard-patent/what-to-consider-before-applying-for-a-patent)

## Full text and drafting notes

The full text and the drafting notes are not part of this public page. Signed-in firm accounts can read them at https://ailawframework.com/precedents/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/invention-disclosure-and-confidentiality-record and through the signed-in MCP connector https://ailawframework.com/mcp/firm.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*