Landis-on-mechanics-of-patent-claim-drafting.ppt

Landis on mechanics of patent claim drafting
§ Single Sentence
&
§ Numbering and Order
§ Single Sentence
The only known way to "particularly point out and distinctly claim"
by means of an English sentence
Introductory phrase
Start and end
Verb form
summary
§ Introductory phrase
each claim must be the object of a single sentence,beginning with a standard introductory phrase:
“I [or] we claim,”
“The invention claimed is,” or equivalent
Appears only once, before the 1st claim
§ Start and end
Begin with a capital or upper-case letter
End with a period
Read as plete sentence
No other capital letters in body, except [degree] C
§ Start and end
Example
I claim: A pencil having an eraser fastened to one end.
§ Verb form
Make claim reads as plete sentence
Watch the form
Preferable in the present tense
§ Summary
Make sure the claim forms plete sentence forming the direct object of the phrase “I claim”. Begin each claim with a capital letter and end it with a period.
§ Numbering and Order
Section 112 of the statute, on utility patents, provides that the "specification shall conclude with one or more claims. . . ."
Numbering
Order
Summary
§ Numbering and Order
Numbering
One claim: no numeral
More than one: start with an Arabic numeral, and be numbered consecutively
Order
In logical order
From the broadest to the narrowest
Group similar together
be grouped in what the claim writer thinks is the most logical order
§ Numbering and Order
an example of plete claims layout:
I claim: 1. A pencil having . . .
2. A pencil as recited in claim I, wherein . . . [more detail].
3. A prising . . . [the most bination acceptable to the applicant].