During the patent prosecution procedure in the United States, a patent applicant/inventor must inform the USPTO of any known prior art references. These include references from the start of the patent application to the date of the patent grant.

 

If you are an IDS applicant, you must submit the prior-art information to the USPTO in an Information Disclosure Statement (“IDS”). The information disclosure statement is a standard structure for disclosing prior art information.

A list of all prior-art is included during the preparation of IDS. This includes patents that have been published or awarded (in the United States or elsewhere), scientific literature or publications, and any other material.

As an applicant, it is your responsibility to reveal prior art while filling for an application or during the prosecution process. This is the inventor’s responsibility and the responsibility of everyone else involved in the IDS preparation and trial of the application.

IDS Preparation Requirements

The following items are required to be in a specific format and should be included in the IDS.

  • All patents, publications, applications, and other information for the evaluation carried out by the patent office examiners.
  • A comprehensible copy of:
  1. All foreign patents you have applied for before.
  2. Each publication or any particular portion of the required publication applied for patent approval in other offices other than the U.S. patent office, unless needed by them.
  3. All the necessary information or portions that were required in the listing of the invention.

 

  • A clear statement of the significance as understood by the person who knows the most about the information’s content. Each patent, publication, or other piece of material in English is included in the range. The description is either independent from or incorporated into the applicant’s patent specification.
  • A copy of a non-English-language document or a section of a non-English-language document written in English.

What is the need for filing IDS?

According to US Code Title 35 and associated provisions of 37 CFR and the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP), a practical approach to citing previous art references is to file an information disclosure declaration. It is vital in determining whether or not a patent application will be granted. Any rational patent examiner would prioritize IDS when deciding whether or not to approve the application.

If your invention’s prior-art fits any of the following requirements, you must file for an IDS document preparation–

  • If the prior art is utilized, marketed, or known in the United States, it is protected.
  • In another country, a patent was granted.
  • It was featured in a publication in the United States or anywhere else on the planet.
  • A patent application was described in a patent application filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) or elsewhere.
  • The USPTO has already described a patentable innovation.

As important as the filing and preparation of an IDS is to your business, it cannot be ignored that the task can belong, intimidating those with a lack of knowledge of how the government administration works. Hence, it is best to seek professional help when filing for such necessary documentation as you do not want to risk any financial and legal mistakes.

If you are looking for a trustable company to entrust your IDS services to, then go for the speedy and effective services of Smart IDS Solution. At Smart IDS Solutions, we offer ready-to-file disclosure statement forms that follow the USPTO’s guidelines. Our team ensures that all connected proceedings are covered in a timely manner so that our clients do not have to pay a fee. Furthermore, for IDS preparation, we guarantee a 100 percent quality assurance. Our solutions are available in over 45 countries at affordable prices. To learn more, visit SmartIDS Solution Services.