If an application has received a Notice of Allowance, how can you still submit an Information Disclosure Statement (IDS)?

When an application has received a Notice of Allowance, the opportunity to submit an Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) remains open under specific conditions. In this case, the correct approach to submit an IDS involves submitting it prior to the payment of the issue fee while including a specific statement indicating that the submission is being made contemporaneously with the payment of the issue fee.

This is allowed because the pertinent rules under U.S. patent practice and the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) provide for the submission of an IDS at this stage to ensure that the patent office has all relevant prior art or information before issuing a patent. The inclusion of the specific statement serves to notify the Patent Office of the timing and reasoning for the IDS submission, making it a valid action even after a Notice of Allowance has been issued.

Submitting an IDS after the payment of the issue fee is not permissible, which is why this option is not valid. Similarly, while filing a Request for Continued Examination (RCE) would allow further prosecution of the application and potentially discussing additional IDS submissions, this does not specifically pertain to the question at hand. Additionally, filing a continuation application could lead to a new application where IDS submissions could be made, but it is not