How to use the invention-intake agent skill for IP triage

What does the invention-intake skill make the agent do?

When someone submits an invention disclosure, the skill has the agent run a structured first-pass screen across six areas: novelty signals, obviousness flags, patent eligibility under §101, public disclosure and bar dates, detectability, and strategic value. Each area gets a pass, caution, or stop mark with a short reason.

The agent then recommends one of three outcomes: pursue a prior-art search and attorney review, gather more information, or decline. The skill states that it is explicitly not a patentability opinion and never says an invention is patentable. It does no prior-art search and no claim analysis.

How do you install the invention-intake skill?

Download the ZIP file from the skill's page on this directory and unzip it. The skill's main file is SKILL.md. Place the unzipped folder in one of two locations: ~/.claude/skills/ for your personal use, or a project's .claude/skills/ folder to share it with one codebase or team.

If you use the Claude apps instead, you can upload the skill under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.

• Personal install: unzip into ~/.claude/skills/
• Project install: unzip into the project's .claude/skills/ folder
• Claude apps: upload under Settings → Capabilities → Skills

What setup does the skill require?

The skill needs Claude Code or another SKILL.md-compatible agent. It also reads a practice profile file at ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/ip-legal/CLAUDE.md, which is created through the cold-start interview. If that file is missing or still contains placeholders, the skill stops and directs you to run the cold-start interview.

The skill refers to commands in the wider claude-for-legal ip-legal plugin, so that plugin needs to be available for the cold-start and matter commands to work.

• Claude Code or a SKILL.md-compatible agent
• Practice profile at ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/ip-legal/CLAUDE.md
• The wider claude-for-legal ip-legal plugin for the cold-start and matter commands

How do you trigger the skill with a natural request?

You can invoke the skill with a slash command and a description or pasted disclosure. If you give only a title, the skill asks for what it needs. The skill is meant to run when an invention disclosure comes in and needs triage on whether to pursue a prior-art search and patent counsel review, investigate further, or decline.

The skill asks seven intake questions in one batch: what the invention is, what problem it solves, how it differs from prior approaches, who invented it and when, whether it has been publicly disclosed, whether it is in use or planned, and its technology area. It will not proceed on a thin description.

• Describe the invention and its status in one message to get the fullest screen
• Paste a formal invention disclosure form and the skill will extract fields from it, asking only for what is missing
• Give only a title and wait for the skill's questions

What does a worked example look like?

Using the example above, the skill would work through the six areas with that description. Because the invention is not yet disclosed and is in internal staging, the skill would treat it as a candidate for a go-ahead rather than a disqualifier, though the final call still rests on a prior-art search and a registered practitioner's review.

If you run the command with no description, the skill asks the seven intake questions and waits for your answers before screening.

• Each screen returns a pass, caution, or stop mark with one line of reasoning
• The bottom line is pursue, investigate, or decline, with a concrete reason for a decline
• If a public disclosure falls within one year in the US or may affect foreign rights, the output is flagged time-sensitive at the top

What safety and privacy notes should you know?

The skill does not run scripts and does not use the network, according to its listing. Its outputs are written to a matter folder or practice outputs folder under the ip-legal plugin directory. Invention content is sensitive, so the skill is designed not to summarize, quote, or reference it outside privileged channels.

Do not treat the output as a patentability opinion. The skill itself says that a wrong decline could forfeit patent rights, so inventors without a legal team reviewing the output should not rely on it alone.

• Runs scripts: no
• Uses network: no
• Invention content should stay within privileged channels
• Under-flagging can be costly, so have counsel review any decline

Which tips help you get a better screen?

Give the skill complete answers to the intake questions, especially the public disclosure details, since demonstrations, customer shows, and public repo posts can affect bar dates. Set up the practice profile first so the filing strategy, technology areas of interest, and approval chain are taken into account.

If the skill says the invention is outside trademark or copyright practice, or that you need a registered patent attorney or agent, follow that routing rather than pushing for a patent verdict.

• Set up the practice profile before the first screen
• Report every public disclosure, including NDA shows and internal-to-external releases, with dates
• Use INVESTIGATE results to gather the specific missing item and rerun the screen
• Treat PURSUE as a request for a prior-art search, not a grant of patentability