What type of information must be disclosed to the USPTO?

The duty of disclosure requires individuals to disclose information that is material to patentability. While the specific MPEP section provided doesn’t elaborate on this, the general understanding based on 37 CFR 1.56 is that material information includes:

• Prior art references
• Information about enablement
• Information related to statutory bars
• Any information that a reasonable examiner would consider important in deciding whether to allow the application to issue as a patent

The MPEP states: “37 CFR 1.56 defines the duty to disclose information to the Office.” This regulation provides more detailed criteria for what constitutes material information that must be disclosed to the USPTO.

To learn more:

• material information
• USPTO disclosure
• prior art
• patentability
• patent application