This article explains how to send an email about an invention disclosure from its correspondence panel, so the message and every reply stay attached to the record.
Prerequisites
The disclosure has at least one inventor or outside counsel contact with an email address.
You have permission to send emails, or you are an inventor or outside counsel on the disclosure.
Steps
Open the disclosure detail page.
In the correspondence panel on the left, click New Mail. Inventors and outside counsel see New Email instead; both open the composer.
Choose the recipients. The composer groups the disclosure's contacts:
To Outside Counsel -- The contacts at the outside counsel firm assigned at approval.
To Inventor(s) -- The inventors named on the disclosure.
Review the Subject. The disclosure's docket number is fixed at the front, and the title is filled in for you; edit the rest as needed.
Enter your Message. The field is labelled after the groups you ticked, such as Message Outside Counsel & Inventor.
Drag files into Supporting Materials to attach them. You can attach up to ten files.
Click Send Mail. ArcPrime confirms with Email sent and adds the message to the correspondence panel.
Where the Email Appears
The email shows up under the All and Internal tabs of the correspondence panel, threaded with any replies. Inventors who open the disclosure see the emails addressed to them, so they can follow the conversation without searching their inbox. Replies sent from a mail client are captured through email tracking.
Replying to Outside Counsel During Drafting
While outside counsel is drafting, the action bar at the bottom of the disclosure offers Reply to Counsel. It opens the same composer addressed to outside counsel, and sending advances the disclosure to the next drafting stage in one step.
Note: Instructions that inventors must not see belong in the Instructions to Outside Counsel field of the approval dialog, which goes only to outside counsel. Emails sent from the composer are visible to everyone you address.
Related Articles
How to Approve or Reject a Disclosure -- Assign the outside counsel contacts you can email here
How Invention Disclosures Work -- The full disclosure lifecycle
Inventor Portal Overview -- What inventors see when they open a disclosure
Viewing and Managing Correspondence -- Correspondence tools on patents