How should unpublished U.S. patent applications be cited in an Information Disclosure Statement?

When citing unpublished U.S. patent applications in an Information Disclosure Statement (IDS), you must include:

• The U.S. patent application publication number
• The applicant
• The filing date
• If available, the U.S. patent application publication date
• The patent application number

The MPEP 609.04(a) states: Each U.S. application listed in an information disclosure statement must be identified by the inventor, application number, and filing date.

It’s important to note that if an application has been published, you should cite it as a U.S. patent application publication rather than as an unpublished application.

To learn more:

• IDS
• unpublished U.S. patent applications
• citation requirements
• application number
• filing date

To learn more:

• unpublished U.S. patent applications