This article explains how to merge two or more invention disclosures that describe the same invention, either from the disclosure list or while reviewing a new submission.
Prerequisites
You have permission to merge disclosures.
The disclosures have not yet been approved or rejected. Disclosures in later stages cannot be merged.
Steps
Merging from the Disclosure List
Open Disclosures > List from the sidebar.
Check the boxes next to the disclosures you want to combine. Use the filters to bring them into view first.
Click Merge Into… in the bar at the bottom of the screen. The Merge Disclosures dialog opens.
Select the radio button next to the disclosure that survives the merge. The others are marked merged and their content folds into it.
Click Continue. ArcPrime drafts a combined Title, Description, and Differentiation from all the selected disclosures.
Review and edit the draft text.
Click Merge Into followed by the surviving docket number.
ArcPrime opens the surviving disclosure with the merged text and the documents from every source. The merged disclosures move to the Merged stage and stay searchable for reference. Merging does not rerun the prior art search, so start a new search if the combined claims differ from the original.
Merging Before Disclosures Are Created
When one submission describes several inventions, ArcPrime opens the Multiple Disclosures Detected page instead of creating them all. You can merge there, before any records exist:
Click Merge on the card whose content should lead.
In the Merge Disclosures dialog, check the other detected inventions to combine and click Select and Continue.
Review the suggested Invention Title, Description, and Differentiation, then click Merge N Disclosures into One.
The merged card shows a Merged N Disclosures chip. Click Unmerge if you change your mind.
Click Create Disclosures to create the remaining disclosures, including the merged one.
Inventors see this page in read-only form and cannot split or merge the detected inventions; counsel decides.
Merging While Reviewing a Batch
When you open a newly created batch from the Multiple Disclosures Detected page, the edit view lists the whole batch in its sidebar. Click Merge there to combine the one you are editing with others in the batch.
Tip: If two disclosures cover different inventions from the same project, keep them separate and use Add Related Disclosure on the detail page instead. Related disclosures stay grouped as a family without losing either record.
Related Articles
How to Edit a Submitted Disclosure -- Refine the merged disclosure afterwards
How Invention Disclosures Work -- The full disclosure lifecycle, including families
Auto-Filling a Disclosure from Documents -- Where the Multiple Disclosures Detected page comes from
Patent Family Tree Overview -- How related filings are grouped after approval