Patent drafting forms the core of the patent application process submitted to the USPTO for the grant of a patent. It plays a crucial role in determining the success or failure of your application. Given its centrality to patent issuance, it is critical that your patent drafting adheres to the USPTO guidelines and is presented in the appropriate manner. Below we discuss some tips that will help you draft the perfect application.
Patents are issued for inventions that are novel and unique. They grant you exclusive rights over an invention and bar others from using, manufacturing, or selling it without permission. In order to secure the powerful legal benefits awarded by a patent, one needs to apply for it at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
The patent application process begins by filing the patent application and submitting the requisite fee. The patent application includes a detailed description of the invention which stresses the uniqueness and originality of the invention. The creation of this document is referred to as the patent drafting process.
Broadly speaking, there are four parts of a patent application:
Patent drafting may seem like a complex task considering the immense importance attributed to it in securing a patent. However, if you keep a few basic yet commonly overlooked points in mind it can prove a fairly simple exercise.
Below are a few important things to remember during patent drafting:
Sufficiency of disclosure or enablement requirement is a mandatory pre-requisite for any patent application. Simply translated it means that the patent application must reveal in full detail how to make and use an invention in such a manner that a person skilled in the art can understand and execute it.
This forms part of the patent bargain arrangement, i.e., the inventor discloses complete details about how the invention is made so that once the patent expires the knowledge may be used by anyone in the public domain. This is to ensure that the public can continue to derive the benefits of the invention even after patent validity has expired.
The details must include all features and nuances of the invention. Organise the content and give your document a coherent structure. An organised document makes the reading easier and the intent clearer, both being of great importance from the examiner’s point of view.
An application with unclear wordings that are difficult to understand is detrimental to the inventor. The examiners usually have limited time to go through the vast number of applications that are filed every year. More time spent in understanding the document affects the available time for patent searching which is a crucial activity.
Therefore, one must avoid verbose content while drafting and focus on putting across the points in a clear and concise manner. Attention must also be paid to weed out any ambiguous sentences and avoid spelling and grammar errors. In addition, consistency must be maintained throughout the document.
For e.g., if you are using the word container to describe something then it must remain the same throughout the application and not be used interchangeably with vessel, box or any other synonym.
A patent is only granted based on the description and content submitted by the inventor. Once submitted you cannot add any more information to your patent file. Therefore, it is critical that all the details of the invention are spelt out with accuracy.
Supplying insufficient or incorrect data can confuse the examiner and cause the application to be rejected. One must never assume that the examiner, being an expert, will automatically understand the invention and how it works.
Since the description must also fulfil the enablement requirement it is essential that the complete details are provided with precision and focus on the invention, as well as its workings.
Patent drawings are illustrations that explain the invention and how it works. Applicants usually hire patent drawing experts to create these drawings. While the drawings are a costly affair, they are an excellent means to expand a disclosure. A visual representation accompanying the written word makes comprehension easier and simpler.
Several firms offer patent drafting services that simplify the drafting process for inventors. These services come at a cost but having expert knowledge on your side in the long patent application journey can be a huge plus, especially if you are applying for the first time.
Subject matter experts work in tandem with you to understand and draft the application in a manner that meets the strict guidelines of the USPTO and covers your ideas in the best and most detailed manner possible. The services are result driven and customised per the budget of the client. Given that patent drafting is the single most important step in your bid to secure a patent, hiring an experienced firm is definitely value for money.
IP rights grant the inventor exclusive claim over an invention. It opens the doors to reaping the financial benefits of your invention through selling, licensing, and other opportunities. But all this depends on the approval of your application at the USPTO.
This makes patent application drafting the most important aspect of your aspirations to secure a patent. The above-listed tips can help you in overcoming common mistakes made by applicants in patent drafting and bring you a step closer to success.
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