INFORMATION DISCLOSURE STATEMENT (IDS)

In nonprovisional applications, applicants and other individuals substantively involved with the preparation and/or prosecution of the application have a duty to submit to the Office information which is material to patentability as defined in 37 CFR 1.56. Luckily, the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98 provide a mechanism by which patent applicants may comply with the duty of disclosure provided in 37 CFR 1.56. Such information may be provided in an Information Disclosure Statement (IDS).

Applicants and other individuals substantively involved with the preparation and/or prosecution of the patent application also may want the Office to consider information for a variety of other reasons; e.g., to make sure that the examiner has an opportunity to consider the same information that was considered by these individuals, or by another patent office in a counterpart or related patent application filed in another country.

• MPEP 609

Practice Tip

Do you have large patent families?  Filing multiple Information Disclosure Statements can be expensive.  Create an IDS filing strategy to address large patent families.  Remember, there are no patent office fees to file an IDS before a non-final office action.

IDS FORMS

Information Disclosure Statement by Applicant – EFS-Web auto-load version (Instructions)

Information Disclosure Statement by Applicant [page 1]

Information Disclosure Statement by Applicant [page 2]

Certification and Request for Consideration of an Information Disclosure Statement Filed After Payment of the Issue Fee Under the QPIDS Pilot Program

Quick Path Information Disclosure Statement (QPIDS)

The Quick Path Information Disclosure Statement (QPIDS) program is part of the USPTO’s on-going efforts towards compact prosecution and pendency reduction. The QPIDS program is fully implemented on a permanent basis.

In particular, the QPIDS program eliminates the requirement for processing of a request for continued examination (RCE) with an information disclosure statement (IDS) filed after payment of the issue fee in order for the IDS to be considered by the examiner. Where the examiner determines that no item of information in the IDS necessitates reopening prosecution, the USPTO will issue a corrected notice of allowability.

OUR INFORMATION DISCLOSURE STATEMENT FEE SCHEDULE