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Adding further change to the Inter Partes Review (IPR) game, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has announced that the voluntary disclosure of prior art search information “has the potential to meaningfully improve Office search practices and, over time, improve examination quality.”
Thus, in an apparent effort to encourage such submissions, USPTO director John Squires has announced that submission of a Search Disclosure Declaration (SDD) will be considered a favorable discretionary factor supporting institution. https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/vsdd_as_a_favorable_factor_in_institution_decisions.pdf
Effective immediately, petitioners may submit a Search Disclosure Declaration (SDD) that explains, in detail: • the databases and repositories in which the asserted prior art was located, • the general search approach, search terms, filters, queries, or classification pathways employed, • other analytics or publicly accessible resources consulted, • the amount of time spent on the search, and • the amount of time spent reviewing search results. A petitioner may further provide any other information relevant to its search methodology. An SDD submission is entirely voluntary. A petitioner who does not provide an SDD will not be disadvantaged. The voluntary submission of an SDD will be considered as a non-exclusive, non-dispositive favorable discretionary factor supporting institution, particularly where the SDD reveals new or underutilized pathways relevant to Office search practice.
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