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Initiating a Communication or Discussion

Things to Know About Submitting a Discussion

Submitting a discussion within the iEdison record is a way to communicate with the agency.  If you are not expecting a response from the agency and just want to annotate a fact within the record, you should use the "Explanatory Notes" section of the Invention or Patent Report instead of submitting a discussion.  

If you want to receive a "real-time" email when your organization receives a new discussion, you should make sure that the "New comment has been posted to invention discussion" box is checked in the "Receive email notifications for" section at the bottom of your "My Profile" page.

To initiate a communication/discussion with the Agency, complete the following steps:

  1. Open an Invention Report and navigate to the "Discussions" panel.
  2. Type a message and click the "Add Comment" button.

1. Open an Invention Report and navigate to the "Discussions" panel

The discussions panel is located at the bottom of Invention Reports.

Discussions screenshot.

2. Type a message and click the "Add Comment" button

Click in the "Discussion" field and type a message for the Agency to view. You may add an attachment with the "Add Attachment" button.

Click the "Add Comment" button to post the message.  Note:  you do not have to push "Save Invention Report" in order for your discussion to be sent.

Discussion screenshot.

"Reply" and "Close" links will appear below posted comments, allowing you to respond or conclude the discussion. You may also edit the comment by clicking the pencil icon.

Discussion reply screenshot.

The Agency will be notified that a new comment has been posted to the discussion. They will review the comment and reply if necessary. If/when the Agency replies to your comment, you will receive a notification indicating as such.

Created March 23, 2022, Updated July 26, 2022