Autessa IDF Manager · Invention disclosure management software
Every invention, disclosed, reviewed and decided.
Autessa IDF Manager is invention disclosure management software. Inventors capture patent ideas in a structured invention disclosure form (IDF) and attach their figures; reviewers score novelty and commercial value, record the legal and filing details, and move each disclosure from Draft to Filed and Granted. It works out of the box inside Autessa, and you can shape the fields, workflow and look to how your IP team works.
- Draft-to-Granted pipeline
- Novelty and value scores
- Role-based access
- Figures and documents
- Reference code, assigned on first save
- Only the moves legal from this stage, for this role
- Structured disclosure sections
- Reviewer-only scores
In one paragraph
What is Autessa IDF Manager?
Autessa IDF Manager is an invention disclosure and patent idea management system for companies with an invention program. It replaces the email, spreadsheet and shared-folder approach with one place where every invention disclosure has a reference code, a structured write-up, its evidence, a review with scores, the legal and commercial reasoning behind the decision, a discussion and a history.
It covers both sides of the program: for your inventors, a short form, a clear status and a guide that explains the process; for your review committee and counsel, an enforced workflow, scoring, restricted legal fields and a dashboard of the whole pipeline.
- Category
- Invention disclosure management, IP management, innovation management
- Who uses it
- Inventors, engineers and researchers; patent review committees; in-house and outside patent counsel; IP and R&D leaders
- Core record
- The invention disclosure form (IDF), numbered IDF-YEAR-NUMBER
- Workflow
- Draft → Submitted → Under Review → Approved → Filed → Granted, with On Hold and Rejected
- Roles
- Admin, Reviewer, Contributor, Viewer
What makes it different
Built like a patent: every part numbered, every move accounted for
Most disclosure tools start as a form and a folder. IDF Manager starts from the record and the decision.
Disclosure records and reference codes
Autessa IDF Manager gives every invention disclosure a quotable reference code (IDF-2026-0014) and a single record page with its overview, attachments, review fields, comments and activity.
Read more →Disclosure pipeline and workflow
Autessa IDF Manager moves every invention disclosure through a pipeline (Draft, Submitted, Under Review, Approved, On Hold, Rejected, Filed, Granted) and only ever offers the moves that are legal for that stage and that role.
Read more →Commercial strategy and file decisions
Autessa IDF Manager records the business case for each invention: estimated value, the file decision, the rationale behind it, a licensing strategy and the competitive significance.
Read more →Role-aware guide
Autessa IDF Manager includes a built-in guide that adapts to the reader: it lists what your role can do, hides steps you can never take, and explains every pipeline stage and where it can go next.
Read more →Product tour
Every screen, from first idea to granted patent
A dashboard, the Patent Ideas list, the disclosure form, the disclosure record, a built-in guide and Settings, all ready from day one.
Dashboard
See the whole invention pipeline
- Portfolio counts at a glance
- Click a stage to open the list filtered to it
Patent Ideas
Find any disclosure in seconds
- Press / anywhere to jump to search
- Stage filter with live counts
- Sort the list your way
New idea · for inventors
A disclosure form inventors actually finish
- Markdown in every section
- Inventors, collaborators and tags
- Saved as a Draft that only the author edits
- Required: a title, plus a summary or a novelty statement
- Guidance under every section
- Markdown supported
Disclosure record · Attachments
The evidence lives with the claim
- Drop files or browse: PNG, JPG, PDF, DOC, DOCX, TXT, XLS, XLSX, EML up to 10 MB each
- Images become figures, opened full size on click
- Documents open in a new tab with a fresh link
Disclosure record · Review
Score it, then decide
- Whole numbers from 1 to 10; unscored shows a dash
- Context recorded when a disclosure is rejected
Disclosure record · Review
Legal and filing details on the record
- Long-form legal reasoning
- Docket and application numbers as your counsel issues them
- Filing and priority dates
Disclosure record · Comments and Activity
Discussion and history in one place
- Internal comments are marked and kept with reviewers
- Reviewers and Admins choose Internal when posting
Guide
A guide written for your role
- What your role can do, ticked
- What needs a different role, greyed out
Settings
Access and branding, handled by Admins
- Add someone by email with a role
- Change a role inline
- Warns before removing the only Admin
The patent disclosure workflow
From Draft to Granted. Only legal moves.
IDF Manager offers only the moves that are legal from a disclosure’s current stage and allowed for your role, and checks each one again before saving it.
Being written by the inventor. Not yet visible to reviewers.
- Submit for review to Submitted
Handed off for review. Awaiting triage.
- Begin review to Under Review
- Return to draft to Draft
Being evaluated for novelty and commercial value.
- Approve to Approved
- Put on hold to On Hold
- Reject to Rejected
Cleared to proceed to a patent filing.
- Mark as filed to Filed
A patent application has been filed.
- Mark as granted to Granted
- Mark as rejected to Rejected
The patent has been granted.
FINAL · nothing followsPaused. Revisit when circumstances change.
- Resume review to Under Review
- Reject to Rejected
Will not be pursued.
FINAL · nothing followsParts list
Everything in Autessa IDF Manager
Every feature, numbered the way a patent numbers its parts.
How it works
How does an invention go from idea to patent in IDF Manager?
- 1.
Capture
An inventor chooses New idea, writes the disclosure, names the inventors and attaches figures. It is saved as a Draft with a reference code.
- 2.
Submit
When it is ready, the inventor presses Submit for review. The first submission date is stamped and it joins the review queue.
- 3.
Review
A Reviewer begins review, scores novelty and value, discusses it in internal comments and records the patentability assessment and business case.
- 4.
Decide and record
Approve, put on hold or reject. When counsel files, mark it filed with the application details; when it issues, mark it granted.
Two sides, one record
For your inventors, and for your review committee
For inventors
- Write a disclosure in minutes; finish it later
- Name co-inventors and collaborators
- Attach drawings, data and email
- Submit for review with one button
- Follow the status and reply to questions in comments
- A guide that explains what to do next
For reviewers, counsel and IP leaders
- A queue of submitted disclosures
- Novelty and commercial value scores
- Attorney notes, docket, application, filing, priority and grant details
- File decisions with rationale and licensing strategy
- Internal comments and a full activity feed
- A live dashboard of the pipeline
Use cases
Who runs an invention program on IDF Manager?
Corporate R&D and engineering teams, startups building a first patent portfolio, in-house IP and legal teams, and research groups that want a disclosure process people follow.
Use cases by role and industry →Security
How are unfiled inventions kept confidential?
Role-based access, restricted legal, commercial and scoring fields for reviewers only, internal comments, short-lived file links, a confidential banner on every screen and an activity feed of every change.
Security, permissions and history →Comparing invention disclosure software?
How IDF Manager compares
FAQ
Questions about Autessa IDF Manager
Does Autessa have invention disclosure software?
Yes. Autessa IDF Manager is invention disclosure management software. Inventors capture patent ideas in a structured invention disclosure form, attach figures and documents, and submit them; reviewers score them, record legal and commercial details, and move each disclosure from Draft through review to Filed and Granted.
What is an invention disclosure form (IDF)?
An invention disclosure form is the record an inventor writes to tell an IP team about a new invention. In Autessa IDF Manager it has a title, a short description, a problem statement, a summary of the invention, what is novel and known prior art, plus named inventors, collaborators, tags and attachments.
How do inventors submit a patent idea?
They choose New idea, fill in the form and save it as a Draft, then press Submit for review when it is ready. Only a title and either a summary of the invention or a statement of what is novel are required, so an idea can be captured quickly and refined before it is submitted.
What stages does a disclosure go through?
Draft, Submitted, Under Review, Approved, On Hold, Rejected, Filed and Granted. The moves between them are fixed (for example, Approved can only move to Filed), so a disclosure can never skip review or jump backwards by accident. Rejected and Granted are final.
Can reviewers score inventions?
Yes. Reviewers give each disclosure a novelty score and a commercial value score, each a whole number from 1 to 10, and add review comments and a rejection reason. A disclosure that has not been scored shows a dash, never a misleading zero.
Does it track filing dates and patent numbers?
Yes. Each disclosure has legal and prosecution fields for attorney notes, a patentability assessment, prior art analysis, docket number, application number, filing date, priority date and grant number, all kept together on the disclosure.
Who can see attorney notes and review scores?
Reviewers and Admins. Legal, commercial and scoring fields are restricted: IDF Manager removes them before a Contributor’s or Viewer’s screen is drawn, and the Review tab only appears for Reviewers and Admins. Internal comments work the same way.
Can I attach patent drawings and documents?
Yes. Images (PNG and JPG) are shown as a grid of figures, and documents (PDF, Word, Excel, plain text and .eml email files) are listed with their size, uploader and date. Each file can be up to 10 MB.
Does IDF Manager work out of the box?
Yes. The disclosure form, review pipeline, scoring, legal and commercial fields, comments and roles are ready the day you invite your team. Because it runs in Autessa, you can then tailor its fields, workflow, rules and look to how your IP team works.
Is Autessa IDF Manager an alternative to Anaqua, Wellspring or Inteum?
Yes, for capturing and reviewing invention disclosures. IDF Manager covers capture, the review pipeline, scoring, legal and commercial fields, comments, activity and roles, ready on day one and customizable in Autessa.
Start your invention program
Give every idea a number and a decision.
Use it out of the box and write your first invention disclosure today, then tailor it in Autessa to your program. Or book a demo and bring your review committee.
Disclosure form · review pipeline · reviewer scoring · role-based access
100% customizable, code and all
Make Autessa IDF Manager fully your own.
Use it out of the box, then change anything. Ask Autobot, Autessa’s AI builder, for a new field, screen, report, workflow or agent and it builds it into your copy of the app. Or open the code and edit it yourself. Nothing is locked: the app, its data and its code are yours.
Start free and make it yours