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The FORGE method

The five-phase FORGE methodology.

FORGE is how IPGuru turns a raw idea into an actionable invention: FORGE · Focus defines the idea and outcome; FORGE · Observe gathers evidence and what is already known; FORGE · Refine strengthens what is useful and novel; FORGE · Grade assesses readiness, risk and opportunity; and FORGE · Execute turns decisions into deliverables. Every phase ends in a clear decision before the next begins.

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Why we work this way

Innovation is a series of good decisions

Most ideas fail not because they are bad, but because time and money are spent before anyone checks whether they should be. FORGE front-loads the cheap, decisive work and gates the expensive work behind it.

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Validate before you invest

Free lets you brainstorm up to four ideas. Member opens projects and FORGE · Focus, and Pro adds FORGE · Observe, so you can learn whether an idea is worth pursuing before buying a project grade.

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Name the real work

Each phase is an activity you actually do, capture, research, build, test, deliver, not a vague stage.

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Gate every step

Between phases sits a gate: a short checklist and a decision. You advance only when the evidence supports it.

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Iterate and pivot

Weak results loop back with specific direction, and a PIVOT lets you change course without losing your work.

Start with the question on your mind

IPGuru.ai is a Corvair.ai product that helps you develop an idea with Nova, assess it with an Idea scorecard, and create documents. Start brainstorming for free. Paid memberships are available through store.ipguru.ai, with Cleverbridge as the web merchant of record.

Choose a question for Nova

Inventor

Test whether the idea is real, new, and workable

Founder

Test the idea, map the moat, and decide what to protect

Product and process teams

Find what to improve and what may be protectable

Student

Turn a curious idea into a science-fair project

Teacher and educator

Shape a real problem into an invention challenge

Graduate or career changer

Turn what you already know into invention territory

The journey

Five phases, four gates

Follow one invention through. Each phase shows the analysis it produces and the crew on it; each gate shows the decision that unlocks the next.

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FORGE · Focus

Define the idea and the outcome
Member

What is analysed

  • arrow_right Your idea in your own words, turned into project attributes
  • arrow_right The problem it solves and who it is for
  • arrow_right A first concept image to react to, before any writing

The crew on it

Nova, guides Kira, first images
door_frontGate to FORGE · Observe. The disclosure questions are answered and you have reacted to a first image. Decision: is the idea clear enough to research? FORGE · Observe requires Pro.
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FORGE · Observe

Gather evidence and see what is already known
Pro

What is analysed

  • arrow_right The state of the market and who the competitors are
  • arrow_right An early patentability read: is it new, novel, non-obvious, feasible
  • arrow_right Viability, can it actually be built
  • arrow_right A preliminary web prior art search

The crew on it

Cora, research Vega, pressure test Sean
workspace_premiumGate to FORGE · Refine, the project-grade gate. The stage's criteria decide, and the Stage scorecard shows how each one stands. Decision: is this worth building? FORGE · Refine requires a project grade.
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FORGE · Refine

Strengthen what is useful and novel
Project grade

What is analysed

  • arrow_right The imaging loop: concept images first, the physical description derived from the ones you accept
  • arrow_right The application draft, the claims, and the technical diagrams
  • arrow_right Strengthening variations and alternative embodiments

The crew on it

Kira, imaging Remy, drafting Sean Iris, formatting
door_frontGate to FORGE · Grade. The stage's criteria decide, and the draft and claims are in hand. Decision: is it ready to be tested hard?
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FORGE · Grade

Assess readiness, risk and opportunity
Project grade

What is analysed

  • arrow_right A comprehensive professional prior art search against your real claims
  • arrow_right The patentability assessment
  • arrow_right A mock examination that attacks your claims like a real office action
  • arrow_right The cumulative project scorecard

The crew on it

Cora, deep search Yuki, mock exam Noor, strategy Sean
door_frontGate to FORGE · Execute. Prior art reviewed, patentability accepted, the examiner's objections resolved. Decision: is it strong enough to file?
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FORGE · Execute

Turn decisions into deliverables
Project grade

What is produced

  • arrow_right Claims finalised, and the prior-art disclosure compiled where the office requires it
  • arrow_right A jurisdiction-formatted filing pack
  • arrow_right The plain-English reading and the attorney binder

The crew on it

Remy, final draft Iris, binder Noor, route and cost
checkDone. The filing pack is assembled, ready for your attorney or self-filing.

Not every project ends in a patent. For an improvement you would rather keep secret, IPGuru can take you to a trade-secret completion instead, documenting and protecting it without a public filing. Other objectives, such as open source, are on the roadmap.

The gates

What a gate really is

A gate is not a wall. It is a short, honest checkpoint between two phases: a checklist, a readiness read, and a decision that is always yours.

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A checklist, not a queue

Each gate is a few required artefacts, shown plainly as "2 of 3 done". Never a ticket system to manage.

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A readiness read

The stage's criteria decide, and the Stage scorecard gives an honest signal, in the journey header, of how ready you are to advance.

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A decision: go, loop, or pivot

You advance, iterate back for more work, or change direction. You are never forced forward.

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An override, with a reason

You can override a soft gate with an explanation. It is logged and carried into the application.

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Nova narrates it

When a gate is met, Nova summarises what was achieved and proposes the next step. You confirm with one tap.

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One gate is the project-grade decision

The gate out of FORGE · Observe is where a validated idea can receive a project grade and unlock the later FORGE phases.

The engine of quality

The FORGE · Refine and FORGE · Grade loop

FORGE · Refine and FORGE · Grade are not a one-way street. A weak FORGE · Grade read sends specific direction back into FORGE · Refine: a thin embodiment count, a claim exposed by prior art, or an objection from the mock examiner. Each pass hardens the invention.

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How the loop turns

  • looks_one FORGE · Grade tests the draft and names the two or three weakest points.
  • looks_two FORGE · Refine strengthens exactly those, with the right agent on each.
  • looks_3 FORGE · Grade re-tests. Repeat until it holds, then move to FORGE · Execute.
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The five moves of a PIVOT

  • pause_circle Pause, and suspend the project's other work.
  • search Inspect what you have learned so far.
  • fact_check Verify the new direction makes sense.
  • explore Orient toward the stronger use, market, or claim.
  • move_up Transition: archive this project and seed a new one.

Changing direction

PIVOT, without losing work

Sometimes the evidence says the angle is wrong. Vega, the crew's coach, coordinates a PIVOT the way Nova coordinates the project. It is a whole-project event: your current project is archived as a read-only record, a new one is seeded from it, and its project-grade investment carries forward under the configured policy. Nothing is lost, and the history of why you changed course is kept.

Who does what

The crew across the journey

PhaseThe analysisWho leads it
FORGE · FocusIdea capture, first concept imageNova, Kira
FORGE · ObserveMarket, competitors, early patentability, prior artCora, Vega, Sean
FORGE · RefineImaging loop, description, draft, claims, embodimentsKira, Remy, Sean, Iris
FORGE · GradeDeep prior art, patentability, mock examination, scorecardCora, Yuki, Noor, Sean
FORGE · ExecuteFinal claims, disclosure, filing pack, plain-English, binderRemy, Iris, Noor

Nova coordinates throughout; Sean is the lead author of your deliverables; the patent team (Noor, Remy, Yuki) joins when a project has a grade. Meet the crew.

Good decisions, in the right order.

Free brainstorms and Member opens projects. Let the evidence tell you whether to build.

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