An information disclosure statement (often abbreviated as IDS) refers to a submission of relevant background art or information to the

United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alex ...

(USPTO) by an applicant for a

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

during the

patent prosecution Patent prosecution describes the interaction between applicants and their representatives, and a patent office with regard to a patent, or an application for a patent. Broadly, patent prosecution can be split into pre-grant prosecution, which i ...

process. There is a duty on all patent applicants to disclose relevant art or background information that the applicant is aware of and that may be relevant to the

patentability Within the context of a national or multilateral body of law, an invention is patentable if it meets the relevant legal conditions to be granted a patent. By extension, patentability also refers to the substantive conditions that must be met fo ...

of the applicant's invention, as established by the United States Code title 35 and related sections of 37 CFR and the

Manual of Patent Examining Procedure The ''Manual of Patent Examining Procedure'' (MPEP) is published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for use by patent attorneys and agents and patent examiners. It describes all of the laws and regulations that must be follo ...

(MPEP). If a patent applicant, with deceptive intent for art known to the applicant, fails to submit material prior art to the USPTO, then any patent that later issues from the patent application may be declared unenforceable because of

inequitable conduct In United States patent law, inequitable conduct is a breach of the applicant's duty of candor and good faith during patent prosecution or similar proceedings by misrepresenting or omitting materiality (law), material information with the specific ...

. Furthermore, the duty to submit such relevant information to the USPTO lies not only on the applicant or inventor, but also on any

patent attorney A patent attorney is an attorney who has the specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice, such as filing patent applications and op ...

or other legal staff employed by the applicant. Art listed on an IDS, on its own, is not automatically considered

prior art Prior art (also known as state of the art or background art) is a concept in patent law used to determine the patentability of an invention, in particular whether an invention meets the novelty and the inventive step or non-obviousness criteria ...

. "Mere listing of a reference in an information disclosure statement is not taken as an admission that the reference is prior art against the claims."

The information submitted in an IDS typically includes other issued patents, published patent applications, scientific journal articles, books, magazine articles, or any other published material that is relevant to the invention disclosed in the applicant's own patent application, irrespective of the country or language in which the published material was made. Art listed on an IDS is typically broken up into three categories: U.S. patent literature, foreign patent literature, and

non-patent literature This is a list of legal terms relating to patents. A patent is not a right to practice or use the invention, but a territorial right to exclude others from commercially exploiting the invention, granted to an inventor or his successor in rights ...

(NPL). US patent literature consists of issued U.S. patents and U.S. patent application publications. Copies of listed U.S. patent literature do not need to be submitted along with the IDS as USPTO examiners have access to all U.S. patent literature. Foreign patent literature consists of patents issued in foreign countries, foreign application publications if they exist, and PCT international application publications. Non-patent literature consists of any publication that is not a U.S. or foreign patent publication, such as magazine articles or research journals. Copies of listed non-patent literature (NPL) and foreign patent publications need to be submitted along with the IDS or they will not be considered by USPTO examiners. If the copies of NPL or foreign patent publications are not in the English language, the applicant must also submit an English translation or a summary of relevancy in the English language in order for the piece of art to be considered by the examiner. The content requirements of an IDS are defined i
37 CFR 1.98
which can be found in the MPEP.

Submission requirements

The submission requirements of an IDS are defined i

also found in the MPEP, and include when and how the applicant is allowed to submit information disclosure statements. An IDS is not permitted in a

provisional application Under United States patent law, a provisional application is a legal document filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), that establishes an early filing date, but does not mature into an issued patent unless the applicant ...

.37 CFR §1.51
/ref> As of October 2006, relevant art may be submitted on paper using a USPTO-issued form, or electronically using the USPTO's electronic filing system.

Contents

Submission requirements

See also

References

Further reading