information disclosure statement

An information disclosure statement (often abbreviated as IDS) refers to a submission of relevant background art or information to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) by an applicant for a patent during the patent prosecution process. There is a duty on all patent applicants to disclose prior art or background information that may be relevant to the patentability of the applicant's invention, as established by the United States Code section 35 and related sections of 37 CFR and the MPEP. If a patent applicant knowingly or intentionally fails to submit prior art to the USPTO, then any patent that later issues from the patent application may be declared unenforceable. Furthermore, the duty to submit such relevant information to the USPTO lies not only on the applicant or inventor, but also on any patent attorney or other legal staff employed by the applicant.
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a list of all patents, publications, U.S. applications, or other information submitted for consideration by the Office in a  non-provisional patent application filed under 35 U.S.C. §111(a) to comply with applicant's duty to submit to the Office information which is material to patentability of the invention claimed in the non-provisional application.

For patent applications filed under 35 U.S.C. §111(a), applicants and other individuals who are substantively involved in preparing or prosecuting a patent application must submit to the Office information which is material to patentability (could render a claim unpatentable) as defined in  37 CFR § 1.56. The provisions of 37 CFR § 1.97 and 37 CFR § 1.98 provide a mechanism for compliance with the duty of disclosure provided in 37 CFR § 1.56.

The IDS must include a list of all patents, publications, U.S. applications, or other information submitted for consideration by the Office. The USPTO provides forms for use in the submission of an IDS, the PTO/SB/08a and PTO/SB/08b.

-- see 37 CFR §§§ 1.56, 1.97 and 1.98 and MPEP 609 for more

Context: Patent