What type of information must be listed in an IDS for items not in English?

In an Information Disclosure Statement (IDS), when including items that are not in English, it is essential to provide a list that includes concise explanations of the relevance of each item. This approach ensures that the patent examiner can understand the significance of the non-English documents and how they relate to the claims being examined. The explanations serve to clarify the importance of the cited documents in the context of prior art and help assess their potential impact on the patentability of the claimed invention.

Submissions that include only the titles or names of these documents without any explanations can leave ambiguity regarding their relevance, which could hinder the examination process. Therefore, providing concise relevance explanations is a critical part of fulfilling the IDS requirements for non-English items. This practice helps maintain the clarity and thoroughness required in patent prosecution.