Create a matter or add a Legal Invention Disclosure request to an existing matter

---
title: Create a matter or add a Legal Invention Disclosure request to an existing matter
description: Create a matter from a Legal Invention Disclosure request or add the request to an existing matter to track the details of the complete patent application process if the request is approved for applying for a patent.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/employee-service-management/legal-invention-disclosure/create-matter.html
release: australia
product: Legal Invention Disclosure
classification: legal-invention-disclosure
topic_type: task
last_updated: "2026-09-10"
reading_time_minutes: 2
breadcrumb: [Use, Legal Invention Disclosure, Legal Service Delivery Practice Applications, Legal Service Delivery, Legal and Contract Operations, Employee Service Management]
---

# Create a matter or add a Legal Invention Disclosure request to an existing matter

Create a matter from a Legal Invention Disclosure request or add the request to an existing matter to track the details of the complete patent application process if the request is approved for applying for a patent.

## Before you begin

A Legal Invention Disclosure request must have been submitted and accepted. For more information, see [Create a Legal Invention Disclosure request](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/employee-service-management/legal-invention-disclosure/submit-legal-invention-disclosure.md).

Role required: sn\_lg\_ops.legal\_fulfiller

## Procedure

1.  Navigate to **All** > **Legal Counsel Center**.

2.  Select the List icon \(\[Omitted image "lsd-lcc-list-icon.png"\] Alt text: List icon\) from the primary navigation and in the Legal Requests section of the **Lists** menu, select **All**.

3.  Select the Legal Invention Disclosure request to open.

4.  Select **Assign to me**.

5.  Select **Start Work**.

6.  Determine whether a similar request has been submitted previously.

    If a similar request has previously been submitted, you can add the current request to the existing matter related to that request.

    1.  In the Legal Counsel Center **Search** field, search for a keyword related to the idea in the request.

        Choose a keyword that is as specific as possible to narrow the search results.

    2.  In the search results, if there is a related matter, copy its number.

7.  Create a matter from the request or add the request to an existing matter.

<table id="choicetable_vlq_pts_lzb"><thead><tr><th align="left" id="d248788e167">

Request search result

</th><th align="left" id="d248788e170">

Actions

</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td id="d248788e176">

**Request is original**

</td><td>

1.  Select **Create Matter**.
2.  In the Create Matter dialog box, verify that the Invention Disclosure matter template is selected or, if it is not present, select it.
3.  Select **OK**.
 **Note:** If the request contains multiple ideas in the **Describe the invention** field, consider creating a separate matter for each idea with a unique name and modify the field so that only one idea is in the field for each matter.

</td></tr><tr><td id="d248788e209">

**Similar request exists**

</td><td>

1.  From the **Create Matter**drop-down list, select **Add to Existing Matter**.
2.  In the Add to an existing matter dialog box, search for and select the matter number.
3.  Select **OK**.
 If the requester name is different than the requester of the existing matter, the additional requester's details will be added to the existing matter.

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>
## Result

A new matter is created from the request or the request is added to an existing matter. The following actions occur:

-   The Legal Invention Disclosure matter window opens with all the request information.
-   The State is updated to Work In Progress.
-   The Application status is In Patent Application for the new matter or In Review for an existing matter.

**Parent Topic:**[Using the Legal Invention Disclosure](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/employee-service-management/legal-invention-disclosure/use-legal-invention-disclosure.md)