Applicants desiring a novelty search must submit to Bruce & McCoy an adequate invention disclosure which will permit a professional patent searcher to perform a relevant search. The disclosure should contain comprehensive pictures of prototypes if available, engineering drawings if available, detailed explained sketches in any event, and a written description of the invention. A copy of the documents submitted will be forwarded to the searcher, so please send the disclosure in duplicate to Bruce & McCoy so we can also keep a copy in our records. Fill out the applicant's prior art search information sheet, which is a separate page hereof, and send it with the disclosure.

Sign, date, and keep the originals of the submission documents for your record of invention. Have a witness who understands the invention disclosure, and could so testify under oath (if God forbid it ever becomes necessary to establish priority of inventorship), also sign and date the disclosure as a witness.

For the patent application preparation, the novelty search submission or a comparable disclosure may be sufficient if it is complete enough. If any prior art such as patents or published articles is known to the applicant, it should be disclosed to Bruce & McCoy at the latest along with the submission for a patent preparation cost estimate so that it can be evaluated. It will help in drawing the claims around the prior art and hopefully lessen the cost of responding to the first Official Action from the USPT0. The determination can also then be made if an Information Disclosure Statement should be submitted along with the patent application. Any changes, additions, and modifications to the invention must be submitted to Bruce & McCoy before preparation of the patent application commences. Otherwise, additional cost will be incurred.

It is preferred that submissions be sent by postal or delivery service rather than e-mail or facsimile transmission since a check must accompany the submission, and it is easier for us to prepare the search request and set up a client's file which can be physically handled for scheduling. Otherwise, delays occur. The submission documents will remain as part of the patent application file in the Bruce & McCoy offices.