Information Disclosure Statements: When And How To File?

Under U.S. patent law, while there is no duty to perform a search of relevant art, inventors and those associated with filing or prosecuting patent applications as defined in 37 C.F.R. § 1.56 have a duty to disclose to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) all known prior art or other information that may be "material" in determining patentability.  In U.S. patent practice, this duty is deemed satisfied when "material" information is submitted to the USPTO in an information disclosure statement (IDS).  The duty continues until a patent has issued, and importantly, if one fails to live up to this duty, the resulting patent may be deemed unenforceable.

While there is no hard and fast rule as to what information is "material," a good rule of thumb is to disclose all information that is relevant to the claimed subject matter.  Such information can include other related U.S. patent applications and patents of the applicant or references cited in a PCT or foreign