The Prior Art Module is used to manage prior art references associated with your matters and generate Information Disclosure Statements. This work happens in three stages:

Connect: Add references from Espacenet with the Load Available References button or import from a spreadsheet (needed for pending matters). In PM Plus and Corporate accounts, we can also process USPTO 892 forms, the examiner's list of cited references. You can also copy (cross-cite) references across a matter family. Cross-citing does not create duplicates, and duplicate NPL entries can be merged.

Cite: Generate the IDS form with a click of a button. Each IDS has an IDS date (when it was created) and a submitted date (when it went to the USPTO).

Verify: Set each reference's citation status and whether the examiner considered it. These two settings are independent. A Citation Matrix shows which references are cited in which matters across a family. 

What else can you do in the Prior Art module?

• Create Non-Patent Literature
• Copy Prior Art References from one Matter to another
• Mark Prior Art References as not needing to be cited in an IDS