Information Disclosure Statement
An information disclosure statement (referred to as IDS) is a document that is to be submitted by an applicant to the patent office. This statement discloses the known prior art information related to the submitted patent application. This prior art information can be any patent, a journal, a social media post, or anything that is related to the filed patent application. It becomes the responsibility of the applicant to provide the examiner with the relevant information that is known to the applicant to disclose the background information that may be relevant to the patentability of the applicant’s invention.
How to file an IDS
It is not necessary to file IDS at the time of filing the application. IDS is to be filed by the applicant within 3 months of the filing date. To submit the Information disclosure statement, we need to fill in the information on the IDS form PTO/SB/08a and submit it to the patent office. The IDS form can be accessed from the concerned patent office.
IDS Updating Search
The search is performed broadly on the applicant’s invention to provide the relevant results that disclose the background of the invention. The IDS search can help the applicant to explain to the examiner how the applicant’s invention is overcoming past flaws. Because of the IDS, it becomes easier for the examiner to understand the applicant’s invention and examine it accordingly.
Benefits of IDS
Provides related information about the invention.
Explains the applicant’s invention clearly by differentiating how it is better.
Assist the applicant to understand the invention’s background and improvise accordingly.
Assist the examiner to understand the background of the applicant’s invention.
