Answers to common questions about invention disclosure stages, prior art search accuracy, the Filing Recommendation, patent committee workflows, and timing expectations.

Every workspace starts with a default stage list. It runs IC reviewing, IC approved, IC rejected, Awaiting meeting, OC drafting, Inventor review, and IC final review. It ends with OC to file, Filed by OC, Case filed, Case closed, and Merged. ArcPrime moves a disclosure between stages automatically as you approve it, send it to counsel, or link it to a patent. You can see the sequence under Settings > Disclosures > General as Auto-tracked Stages.

Yes. Contact [email protected] to rename stages, add new ones, or remove stages that do not apply to your process. The disclosure stages article explains what each default stage means.

Click Submit Disclosure and pick one of four options: Upload Documents, Start Voice Interview, Chat with AI, or Input data manually. When you upload documents, ArcPrime fills the required fields and any custom fields from their content. Review the draft before you submit. See how to submit a new disclosure.

Yes. Once a disclosure is submitted, ArcPrime starts a prior art search and the report area shows Searching for Prior Art until results arrive. Drafts do not trigger a search. If no search has run, click Start in the Search for Prior Art card to run one yourself.

ArcPrime's prior art search identifies relevant references and maps them to each claim element with a risk level. Results include the cited references, so you can evaluate each one directly. The search is designed to be thorough, but review and validate the results before making filing or strategy decisions. Click Export on the report to download the element mapping as a spreadsheet.

Yes. Click Search Prior Art on an existing report to open the Retry Prior Art Search window. Edit the independent claims, add a Custom instruction such as a standard or technical field to focus on, and click Retry Prior Art Search. Each run is kept as a version, so you can compare results. Prior art searches do not consume units on paying workspaces.

A prior art search typically takes one to two hours. You do not need to keep the page open. ArcPrime completes the search in the background and emails you when it is ready. See running a prior art search on a disclosure.

Each submitted disclosure gets a Filing Recommendation score built from Patentability, Detectability, Taxonomy Fit, Competitive Value, and Prosecution Outlook. Each factor shows its reasoning inline, and you can print the recommendation to PDF. Administrators set the weights and add custom factors under Settings > AI Recommendations > Filing. See understanding the Filing Score.

Click Send to Patent Committee on a disclosure. Committee members receive a notification, review the disclosure, prior art results, and Filing Recommendation, and vote Approve, Reject, or Abstain with an optional comment. The Committee Decisions card shows who has voted, and you can click Send Reminder for anyone pending. See patent committee voting and approval.

Yes. Inventors can log in to the Inventor Portal to check the current stage of their disclosure. They can also see whether signatures have been collected and view award status without contacting in-house counsel.

Contact our support team at [email protected] or use the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of any ArcPrime page.