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1893.03(g) Information Disclosure Statement in a National Stage Application [R-2] - 1800 Patent Cooperation Treaty
1893.03(g) Information Disclosure Statement in a National Stage Application [R-2]
An extensive discussion of Information Disclosure Statement practice is to be found in MPEP § 609. Although not specifically stated therein, the duty to disclose information material to patentability as defined in 37 CFR 1.56 is placed on individuals associated with the filing and prosecution of a national stage application in the same manner as for a domestic national application. The **>averment< with respect to the duty under 37 CFR 1.56 >required under 37 CFR 1.63(b)(3) in an oath or declaration is applicable to oaths and declarations filed in U.S. national stage applications. See 37 CFR 1.497(c)<.
When an international application is filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), prior art documents may be cited by the examiner in the international search report and/or the international preliminary examination report. It is desirable for the U.S. examiner to consider the documents cited in the international application when examining the U.S. national stage application or when examining an application filed under 35 U.S.C. 111(a) which claims the benefit of the international application under 35 U.S.C. 365(a) or (c).
As a result of an agreement among the European Patent Office (EPO), Japan Patent Office (JPO), and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), copies of documents cited in the international search report issued by any one of these International Searching Authority Offices generally are being sent to the other Offices when designated in the international application. Accordingly, in many national stage applications where the international search was conducted by the EPO, JPO, or USPTO, copies of the documents cited in the international search report are made available to the examiner in the national stage application.
When all the requirements for a national stage application have been completed, applicant is notified (Form PCT/DO/EO/903) of the acceptance of the application under 35 U.S.C. 371, including an itemized list of the items received. The itemized list includes an indication of whether a copy of the international search report and copies of the references cited therein are present in the national stage file. The examiner will consider the documents cited in the international search report, without any further action by applicant under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98, when both the international search report and copies of the documents are indicated to be present in the national stage file. The examiner will note the consideration in the first Office action. There is no requirement that the examiners list the documents on a PTO-892 form. See form paragraphs 6.53, 6.54, and 6.55 (reproduced in MPEP § 609). Otherwise, applicant must follow the procedure set forth in 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98 in order to ensure that the examiner considers the documents cited in the international search report.
This practice applies only to documents cited in the international search report relative to a national stage application filed under 35 U.S.C. 371. It does not apply to documents cited in an international preliminary examination report that are not cited in the search report. It does not apply to applications filed under 35 U.S.C. 111(a) claiming the benefit of an international application filing date.
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