One of the services provided for inventors is the acceptance and
preservation by the Patent and Trademark Office for a two year period of
papers signed by the inventor(s) disclosing an invention. This
disclosure is accepted as evidence of the dates of conception of the
invention. The Disclosure Document will be retained for two years and
then be destroyed unless it is referred to in a separate letter in a
related patent application within those two years.
Disclosure Documents may also be filed at selected Patent and Trademark
Depository Libraries (PTDLs), presently including the Sunnyvale (CA)
Center for Innovation, Invention and Ideas and Great Lakes Patent and
Trademark Center at the Detroit (MI) Public Library. A listing of PTDLs
is included in this pamphlet under the heading “Library, Search Room
Searches and Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries.” One copy of the
document is kept at the PTDL and the original documents are sent to the
Patent and Trademark Office for fee collection, processing and
retention. Disclosure Documents are kept in confidence by the PTO.
The Disclosure Document is not a patent application and the date of its
receipt in the PTO does not become the effective filing date of any
patent application subsequently filed. The benefits provided by the
document will depend upon the adequacy of the disclosure and therefore,
it is recommended that the Disclosure Document be a clear and complete
explanation of the manner and process of making and using the invention.
When the nature of the invention permits, a drawing or sketch should be
included.
A fee must accompany the disclosure. See the current fee schedule. To
facilitate the PTO’s electronic data capture and storage of the
Disclosure Document, it must be on white paper having dimensions not to
exceed 8½ x 11 inches (21.6 X 28.0 cm) with each page numbered. Text and
drawings must be sufficiently dark to permit reproduction with commonly
used office copying machines. Oversized papers, even if foldable to the
above dimensions will not be accepted.
Attachments such as videotapes and working models will not be accepted
and will be returned.
The Disclosure Document must be accompanied by a separate signed cover
letter stating that it is submitted by, or on behalf of, the inventor(s)
and requesting that the material be received into the Disclosure
Document Program. The original submission will not be returned. A notice
with an identifying number and date of receipt in the PTO will be mailed
to the customer, indicating that the Disclosure Document may be relied
upon only as evidence and that a patent application should be diligently
filed if patent protection is desired.
A brochure on Disclosure Documents is available by calling the PTO
General Information Services at 1–800–786–9199 or 703–308–4357.