USPTO Released Updated Disclaimer Forms
The agency introduced four new terminal disclaimer forms and updated existing ones to improve filing efficiency.
Updated on Sept. 23, 2026 in Remote Work
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The United States Patent and Trademark Office has released four new and four updated terminal disclaimer forms. These changes aim to streamline the patent filing process by reducing errors and lowering administrative burdens for applicants.
Why it matters
Updating these forms is intended to simplify complex filings and improve data collection for the agency. By increasing reference capacity and clarifying tracking, the USPTO seeks to decrease the frequency of errors during the application process.
The agency released four new terminal disclaimer forms based on joint research agreements and updated four existing forms. The revised documents now support up to 10 references per filing.
The players
United States Patent and Trademark Office
The federal agency responsible for granting U.S. patents and registering trademarks.
The details
The USPTO expanded the applicant field in form PTO/AIA/63 and introduced separate forms, PTO/SB/43a and PTO/SB/43b, to replace the previous version of PTO/SB/43 for better tracking. These updates provide additional space and structural improvements to assist applicants in submitting required documentation.
Timeline
The USPTO released the new and updated forms on September 23, 2026.
Market Landscape
The agency's updates to patent forms follow the framework established by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act. This regulatory shift continues the trend of digitizing and streamlining intellectual property workflows to handle increasing application volumes.
Patent applicants and legal professionals can expect a more streamlined filing experience with fewer administrative rejections. Using the updated forms will allow for easier management of multiple references and better tracking of joint research agreements.
The takeaway
Applicants should prioritize transitioning to the new forms immediately to ensure compliance with updated data collection standards. Proper use of the expanded reference fields can help prevent common filing errors that lead to processing delays.
Further reading
Learn more about evolving administrative processes in the Remote Work section.
More information
View the full list of new and updated documents on the USPTO disclaimer forms page.
Source note: This article includes information reported by USPTO.
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