Patent ID: 8103709

Claim:
A computer-implemented system for invention life cycle tracking, comprising: a data storage configured to store a plurality of documents, including a first document and a second document; and a computer processor device, the computer processor device being configured with: an invention disclosure module, that interacts with a user to tag the first document with an attribute indicating an invention, the invention being one of a plurality of inventions, when the first document is stored in the data storage and is not previously filed in an official intellectual property office; and a document creation module which creates the second document, that: automatically without manual intervention prompts the user to select one of the inventions previously tagged to one of the plurality of documents, as the invention to which the second document is directed, when the second document is initially created, and tags the second document with the attribute indicating the invention, when the second document is initially stored in the data storage, wherein the first and second documents collectively reflect progress in the invention life cycle, the attribute is in a predetermined hierarchy of a plurality of attributes, tagging one of the documents which had not previously been tagged, with the attribute causes the one of the documents to be associated with the attribute and with parent attributes of the attribute according to the predetermined hierarchy, for later retrieval of the documents by searching for the invention and the parent attributes.