Is a Grant Proposal considered public disclosure?
Grant applications to federal agencies can constitute public disclosure as they are accessible under the Freedom of Information Act. However, you can take certain steps to help maintain the confidentiality of patentable materials within the application by placing a notice on the first page of the proposal that states: “Confidential Information – Pages ___ to ___ contain potentially patentable information.” List the pages containing the confidential information and write “CONFIDENTIAL” on each page that contains the information.
