DISCLOSURE

disclosure,n.1. The act or process of making known something that was previously unknown;

a revelation of facts <a lawyer’s disclosure of a conflict of interest>. See DISCOVERY.

defensive disclosure.See DEFENSIVE DISCLOSURE.

full disclosure.A complete revelation of all material facts.

public  disclosure of  private facts.The  public revelation of some aspect of a person’s  private

life  without  a  legitimate  public  purpose.  •  The  disclosure  is  actionable  in  tort  if  the  disclosure

would  be  highly  objectionable  to  a  reasonable  person.  See  INVASION  OF  PRIVACY.  [Cases:

Torts    8.5(5.1). C.J.S. Right of Privacy and Publicity §§ 17, 20–21, 23–27, 31, 33, 40–41.]

voluntary disclosure of offense.A  person’s  uncoerced admission to an undiscovered crime. •

Under the federal sentencing guidelines, a lighter sentence may be allowed. See USSG 5K2.16.

2. The  mandatory  divulging of information to a litigation opponent according to  procedural

rules. — Also termed compulsory disclosure; automatic disclosure. See DISCOVERY(2). [Cases:

Federal  Civil  Procedure    1261;  Pretrial  Procedure    11.  C.J.S.  Discovery  §§  2–4,  6–7;  Pretrial

Procedure §§  2–6.]  —  disclose,vb.  —  disclosural,adj.“Rule  26(a)  [of  the  Federal Rules  of  Civil

Procedure]  reflects a  shift away  from  the  traditional  method  of  obtaining  discovery  through  the

service  of  written  demands  toward  requiring  automatic  disclosure  by  the  parties  of  information

that  would  invariably  be  requested.  The  goal  of  automatic  disclosure  is  the  creation  of  a  more

efficient and expeditious discovery  process…. Rule 26(a)(1) provides for the initial disclosure of

specified information relating to  witnesses, documents, and insurance agreements. Rule 26(a)(2)

provides for the disclosure of information regarding experts who may be used at trial. Rule 26(a)(3)

provides for specified  pretrial disclosures regarding witnesses, evidence, and  objections.” Jay E.

Grenig  &  Jeffrey  S.  Kinsler,  Handbook  of  Federal  Civil  Discovery  and  Disclosure  §  1.15,  at

65–66 (2d ed. 2002).

accelerated disclosure.See accelerated discovery under DISCOVERY.

initial  disclosure.Civil  procedure.  In  federal  practice,  the  requirement  that  parties  make

available to each other the following information without first receiving a discovery request: (1)

the  names,  addresses,  and  telephone  numbers  of  persons  likely  to  have  relevant,  discoverable

information, (2) a copy  or description  of all relevant documents, data compilations, and tangible

items  in  the  party’s  possession,  custody,  or  control,  (3)  a  damages  computation,  and  (4)  any

relevant insurance  agreements.  Fed.  R. Civ.  P.  26(a)(1)(A)–(D).  [Cases:  Federal Civil Procedure

1261, 1272.]

3.Patents. A document explaining how an invention works in sufficient detail for one skilled

in  the  art  to  be  able  to  understand  and  duplicate  the  invention;  everything  revealed  about  an

invention in the patent application, including drawings, descriptions, specifications, references to

prior   art,   and   claims.   •   An   invention   disclosure   statement   is   sometimes   attested   by   a

knowledgeable witness, who  signs and  dates the  disclosure  document to  establish  the  inventor’s

identity and the date of the invention before the patent application is prepared. An inventor can file

a  disclosure  document  with  the  U.S.  Patent  and  Trademark  Office  before  submitting  a  patent

application,  but the  document’s  date  has  no  relationship  to  the  later  application’s  effective  filing

date.   See   ENABLEMENT   REQUIREMENT.   Cf.   ENABLING   SOURCE;   DEFENSIVE

DISCLOSURE. [Cases: Patents    99. C.J.S. Patents § 139.] 4.Patents. PUBLICATION(2). [Blacks Law 8th]