A Brief Introduction to the Process of Patent Drafting

What is patent and when it is required:

The growth and success of any business depends upon new inventions and discoveries.  Any new invention is a confidential and important product of a company and hence needs to be protected to avoid being misused and imitated. This protection can be obtained through a Patent.  A Patent is a legal process where certain exclusive rights are granted by the National Government for a stipulated period  in exchange of public disclosure of the new invention by a patentee.

What is important to understand before Patent Filing:

The considerable point is that the inventor should not opt for Patent till he has weighed his stimulus and has felt the need of it.  Not to view the whole invention but only specific details and patent coverage on broader aspect. To be patentable, an invention must adhere to the scope of patentable subject material as defined by the patent statute. The invention must be in proper relation with a machine, article or substance produced by manufacture, or the process of manufacture of a machine  or article.

The steps involved in filing a patent:

1. Gather all the relevant information .
2. Obtain non disclosure agreement.
3. Fill the invention disclosure form.
4. Patentability analysis to be carried out by an expert/analyst.
5. Analyst will draft the patent application .
6. The patent draft will contain Title, description, Summary, Prior art Background, Patent Drawings,
7. Detailed description of Invention and Claims.
8. Patent applications should be reviewed in all technical and legal perspective. Never file patent applications in a hurry as it may cause mistakes.
9. After all this, it is recommendable to file provisional patent applications.

Imp : The application must meet USPTO requirement:

Drafting Patent Claims:

Drafting patent claims is the most difficult part that requires the professional and legal skills. For this reason, many inventors seek help from a Patent Attorney or Agent to help draft their patent claims.

1. The patent claims will determine whether or not infringement has ever occurred on your invention.
2. There is a specific language used to draft patent claims, which supports the purpose stated in the claims.
3. While drafting a patent claim for an invention, the broad claims are written first and are narrowed down in scope by additional claims similar to an outline format.
4. Patent claims must be written in sentence format with an introduction, followed by body with both the pieces joined with a link.