Fellow inventors — how do you protect an idea before it's patented, especially when using AI tools?
I'm researching a real problem a lot of inventors seem to face: documenting and protecting an idea in the early stage, before a patent is filed — especially now that AI tools are part of the workflow
A few things I'd love to hear about:
- How do you currently document a new idea (notebook, email to self, notes app)?
- Have you ever hesitated to use ChatGPT/Claude to help organize or think through an invention, because of privacy concerns?
- Has proving "when" you had an idea ever actually mattered for you (dispute, licensing, etc.)?
This is pure research — not selling anything, just trying to understand the real pain points. Happy to chat more in comments or DMs if you've dealt with this.
u/CarefulCalendar9554 — 14 days ago