The IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin was a technical
publication
To publish is to make content available to the general public.[Berne Conve ...](_blank)
produced by
IBM between 1958 and 1998. The purpose of the Bulletin was to disclose
invention
An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an i ...
s that IBM did not want their competitors to get
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 p ...
s on. The Bulletin was a form of
defensive publication
A defensive publication, or defensive disclosure, is an intellectual property strategy used to prevent another party from obtaining a patent on a product, apparatus or method for instance. The strategy consists in disclosing an enabling descriptio ...
. By publishing the details of how to make and use the invention,
patent examiner A patent examiner (or, historically, a patent clerk) is an employee, usually a civil servant with a scientific or engineering background, working at a patent office. Major employers of patent examiners are the European Patent Office (EPO), the Unit ...
s could have a searchable source of
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 f ...
that they could cite against subsequent
patent application
A patent application is a request pending at a patent office for the grant of a patent for an invention described in the patent specification and a set of one or more claims stated in a formal document, including necessary official forms and re ...
s filed by others on the same or similar inventions.
The Bulletin has been cited over 48,000 times in various United States patents.
[Delphion Web site]
http://www.delphion.com/search-prior_art#tdb
retrieved on June 20, 2006
See also
*
United States Statutory Invention Registration
In former United States patent law, a statutory invention registration (SIR) was a publication of an invention by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The publication was made at the request of the applicant (i.e. inventor(s) ...
*
Patent Commons Project
References
External links
IBM notice regarding the availability of the IBM technical disclosures(via Internet Archive)
*Searchable Web site for IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin article
www.delphion.com{Dead link, date=August 2020 (This is a commercial Web site. Registration may be required)
History of patent law
Technical Disclosure Bulletin
Publications established in 1958
Publications disestablished in 1998