How to Start an Invention Evaluation Team

Since this is an informal evaluation team that is only created to provide the inventor team with a comparable board of invention reviewers—let's go ahead and draw from among the inventor team. This experience of utilizing inventors as invention evaluators provides great educational experience for inventors as they turn to the role of evaluator.

The evaluation team will focus on the aspects that the formal evaluators will consider. These are the elements of the problem, the solution, and the novelty. The evaluators will focus on what the inventors are claiming: Is it clear, hard-hitting, concise, and to the point? Has the inventor researched the prior art? Can the invention team respond to challenges against the claims with clarity, assurance, and confidence?

The evaluation team is best served when it rotates inventors in and out of the evaluation team process as evaluators. Of course, an inventor is always disqualified to process the evaluation of his or her own invention(s). However, anytime an inventor is available and not acting as an inventor, he or she should participate as an evaluator.