Any good Memphis Patent Attorney can get you started with inventing by giving some helpful advice on inventors notebooks.  Inventor notebooks keep a record of your progress with your invention, from initially identifying the problem, to final product launch. 

 

Inventor’s notebooks

Invention notebooks used to document inventive activity should have at least three attributes:

1)     Each page of the notebook should be permanently bound together and consecutively numbered.

2)     Entries in the notebook should be legibly written in ink or other permanent marking without generating large blank spaces.

3)     The pages should be signed and dated after each entry by the inventor(s) performing the activity and by at least one witness.  Above each witness's signature, the following statement should be written:  "I have read and understood the above confidential material pertaining to the disclosed invention." 

• If you are collaborating, each inventor should have his or her own bound invention notebook, which should be used to record all concepts, experiments and results.
• For projects requiring team effort, the individual members of the team may record their activity in their own bound notebook, allowing the preparation of duplicate records (i.e., a record that is a permanent page immediately followed by a removable page on which information recorded on the permanent page is transferred using carbon or carbonless paper). The removable pages from each team member can be assembled in a loose leaf notebook to generate a record of the team's progress on a project.  Special laboratory type notebooks can be purchased for this purpose.
• For convenience, reserve the first 15-20 pages of the notebook for a table of contents.
• Write the date that the work begins for the project in the upper right hand corner of the page.
• Use a ballpoint pen of a single color and use the same pen to make all notebook entries that are on the same page. This will facilitate proving that the page is an authentic record of the inventive activity that occurred on the written date(s).

Recording conception:

• Describe in detail the planned invention, indicating the purpose of the invention and any expected outcomes, advantages or results. You may include the source of inspiration, a discussion of current known similar products, books or articles, and ways in which the invention is believed to solve problems in your particular field or “art”.
• When applicable, the notebook entry should list part numbers, dimensions, materials, chemical reagents, reaction parameters such as times and temperatures, and apparatus to be used in the invention or experiment. Use of experimental terms that are not commonly known in the particular art related to the research should be avoided or if used, explained thoroughly.  Materials and parts should preferably not be referred to by their trademarked names alone; the source and composition of the parts or materials should also be listed. In summary, the notebook record of an invention should be so complete that a person of ordinary skill in the art reviewing the disclosure of the invention or experiment would be able to understand the invention or procedure described.
• Sign and date the page where the conception has been set forth. Corroborate conception by describing the idea to another (who is not a co-inventor); this corroborating witness should then read the inventor's notebook and date and sign it also. 
• If conception of a new idea recorded in the inventor’s notebook is subsequently described in a memorandum to a colleague or described in an invention disclosure and submitted to your patent attorney, the preparation of this memorandum should preferably be referenced in the notebook.
• If work on an invention involves the confidential information someone else, the notebook should describe exactly how the information was used and how it may have assisted in the conception or development of the invention.

Reduction to practice:

• Make entries directly into the notebook as you modify your design or experiments are carried out and immediately after results are obtained. Pages should not be skipped; if construction, progress or an experiment continues over several days, it is generally acceptable to note at the end of one day's entry the next date work was done on the experiment, followed by that day's entry.
• If some of the work is done by another person, for example, a machinist or technician, the results or data obtained from the technician should be recorded in the bound inventor’s notebook as soon as they are received by the inventor. Any graphs, printouts, etc. obtained from a technician can be fastened into the inventor’s notebook. Alternatively, if large amounts of supporting materials are produced, they may be kept in a separate book or file that is clearly cross-referenced.
• Write the date that any results, either positive or negative, were obtained or received on the same page where the results are recorded, and identify the results by reference to a prior notebook page that contains a description of the experiment leading to the results.
• Enter all observations about an experiment and any conclusions drawn from the results obtained into the notebook. Avoid categorical statements about the worthlessness or lack of utility of the product or process described; such statements could later be used as evidence of the inventor's failure to appreciate the inventive significance of the recorded experiment.
• Correct an incorrect entry by drawing a single line through the incorrect entry; there should be no attempt to obliterate or erase an entry. A note explaining the error and correction should also be entered on a separate page of the notebook that references the correction.
• As soon as a page of the notebook is completed, it should be initialed and dated by the person actually working on the invention or experiment, even if this person is an assistant working under the direction of the inventor, and then initialed and dated by any supervisor of the person who actually did the experiment. If there is a blank portion or an unmarked notebook page remaining after an entry, draw a diagonal line through the remainder of the page.
• As soon as possible after the conclusion of an experiment, the inventor, and preferably a corroborating witness who is not an inventor and who understands the experiment, should read and then sign and date the notebook page at a position just below the point on the page where the entry ended; there should be no blank spaces between the entry and the signatures. The inventor and corroborating witness should satisfy themselves that there are no blank spaces on the pages witnessed, that all tables and data are complete, and that the entry witnessed is a full and faithful record of the work observed. In addition, the inventor should initial and date any corrections made to the page. If corrections are made after the notebook has been witnessed, the corrections should be signed and dated by the entrant of the changes and, if possible, by the witness to the original entry.

Tips for Companies and Department Managers:

• Issue only a single notebook to a person per major project. The title page of each inventor’s notebook must indicate the following:
• the name of the person receiving the book,
• the department in which the person works,
• the social security number of the person (or other identification number)
• the project name and the date when the notebook was issued.
• Once the notebook is filled or projects completed reports are made regarding works within the notebook; a reasonable period for access by the scientist or engineer should be given, and then the notebook should be archived. Remember generally the notebook is the property of the employer as well as the rights to any inventions. 
• The employer should control access to archived notebooks.  A copy should be made and given to the employee if the employee believes access will be frequently required.
• Your patent attorney should be consulted as soon as possible when the work in the notebook, or at any stage in the invention's development or an experiment, appears to involve patentable subject matter.