The first step that an inventor should take is to secure records which prove the date on which the inventor thought of the invention, dates on which experiments were conducted in perfecting it, and the date it was first used and found to operate satisfactorily. An inventor who has an idea should, as soon as possible, write down a complete description of the invention, make sketches of it, describe how it works and what it does. Then the inventor should sign and date the papers and indicate that he or she is the inventor.
These papers should then be shown to two colleagues who have no financial interest in the invention and the invention should be explained to them. Have these colleagues sign and date the papers, writing before their signature that the invention was explained to and understood by them. Keep the papers in a safe place. Patent agencies like InventHelp can help you with this with the expertise of InventHelp patent attorney.
Records should be kept of experiments and tests performed, as well as the observations made and information learned. These records should also be signed and dated. If a person is often engaged in inventive and/or experimental activity, it is desirable that the inventor (or each inventor if there are two or more) maintain a personal bound notebook into which ideas and observations are sequentially recorded in the manner described above.
One good way of establishing evidence of a date of invention is the Disclosure Document (DD) Program established by The United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). A DD is a brief explanation of the invention which is recorded in the PTO for a small fee. Preferably the DD will also be witnessed as described above. Again, InventHelp patent invention company can help.
The PTO will record the date the DD was received, and return a copy to the sender with a unique identifying number. The DD is not a patent application, and is destroyed in two years unless a patent application is filed referring to the DD. If a patent application is filed, the application should refer to the unique number on the DD, and the PTO will attach the DD in the file.