How do I cite a foreign patent document in an Information Disclosure Statement (IDS)?
How do I cite a foreign patent document in an Information Disclosure Statement (IDS)?
When citing a foreign patent document in an Information Disclosure Statement (IDS), you need to provide specific information as outlined in MPEP 609. The citation should include:
- The country or patent office that issued the document
- The document number
- The kind code (if known)
- The name of the patentee or applicant
- The date of publication of the document
- The pages, columns, lines, or paragraph numbers where relevant passages or figures appear (if a particular part of the document is being cited)
For example, a proper citation might look like this:
JP 2000-123456 A (SMITH, John) 15 January 2000, paragraphs [0015]-[0020], figure 3
If an English language abstract is available, it should be submitted along with the foreign patent document. As stated in MPEP 609:
“When citing a foreign patent document on an information disclosure statement, applicant should also submit any English-language abstract of that foreign patent document available to applicant.”
By providing complete and accurate citations for foreign patent documents, you ensure that the examiner can easily locate and consider the relevant prior art during the examination process.
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