Once an inventor fills out an invention disclosure is typically submitted to an entities’ patent committee or legal counsel for review.  The “Invention Disclosure Evaluation Process” figure shows an overview of the process.  The reviewing personnel assess the invention for its likely novelty, relative performance, relative cost to produce, and value as a choke-point consumer feature.  Pending upon the assessment in these four areas decision will be made to proceed with the patent filing or not.

The “Disclosure Decision Process” figure developed by Dow Corporation in the mid-1990s shows a much more detailed set of steps and questions to be answered.  This remains a good decision process today.