Corrected Application Data Sheets

Occasionally, Application Data Sheets (“ADS”) need to be corrected because the information in them is wrong. A corrected ADS is a fairly minor correction. However, submitting a corrected ADS is actually fairly tedious. It requires striking through or bracketing out information to remove it and then underlining newly added information. Not that hard, but the ADS form doesn’t provide a lot of space for those corrections. Some of the boxes are barely big enough for the original material. And where a check-the-box needs to be corrected, it can be difficult to show a change from the previous version of the ADS.

The Patent Office has thus developed a Corrected ADS web filing. It already had a web-based ADS that could be filled out and submitted entirely online. I’ve not been a fan of that because the ADS contains quite a lot of information and thus a lot of opportunity to make an error. I prefer to prepare the ADS in PDF form and then review it before filing. However, if a mistake does get made in the ADS, the Corrected ADS web filing seems like a good option for entering corrections into the record.

The Corrected ADS web filing is access through the Patent Office’s EFS filing system.  After submitting the app number and confirmation number for the case, the information gathered from the original ADS will be displayed. Changes are made easily by simply typing in the new information. The Patent Office software will take care of the rest when generating a Corrected ADS.

Almost all of the fields of the original ADS can be changed. The order of inventors can be changed. Note that you cannot add or remove inventors through a corrected ADS. That is done through another, much more complicated, process, which is beyond the scope of this article. You will also not be able to change publication request information. If you have any questions about submitting a Corrected ADS, it is best to contact a local patent attorney you can visit in person to discuss.