Parts of a Patent Application

• The parts of the formal patent disclosure application are: 1. Application Transmittal Form; 2. Fee Transmittal Form; 3. Application Data Sheet; 4. Specification; 5. Drawings (if necessary); 6. Executed Oath or Declaration; 7. Nucleotide and/or Amino Acid Sequence Listing (if necessary).
  
  

The Term "Disclosure"

• The term "Disclosure" can be used in two ways. One has to do with the physical patent application. The other is used to describe the process.
  
  

Disclosure and the Patent Application

• "Disclosure" is sometimes used to describe the parts of the patent application that describe the invention in words or show with drawings. These sections of the patent are the Data Sheet, the Specification, the Drawings and the Nucleotide and/or Amino Acid Sequence Listing, if applicable.
  
  

Disclosure as Part of the Process

• "Disclosure" is also used as a verb to describe part of the process of applying for a patent. Used in this context, an inventor might say, "I disclosed the electric starter as part of the invention, but the USPTO wants more detail."
  
  

Usage in an Academic Setting

• "Disclosure" is also used in academic settings to refer to inventions. In this scenario, when researchers make a discovery or develop an invention, they disclose it to the school's appropriate administrative office by submitting a form, often called the "Invention Disclosure Form."
  
  

History

• At one time the USPTO had a program called the "Disclosure Document Program." This program ended February 1, 2007.