patent claim

7/28/2019 Patent Claim

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PATENT CLAIM

Shweta Singh


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Patent Claims

The Claims of a

patent define the

scope of theinvention. In the

U.S., peripheral

claiming is used.

That is, the claimlanguage defines

the edge of the

property right.


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Conti

The claims of a patent come at the end of thedocument, right after the written description(specification) of the invention. The claims areset forth as separately numbered paragraphs ina single-sentence format. The first claim of anissued patent is always numbered "1," with eachclaim thereafter following in an ascendingnumerical sequence. Most patents contain about

10-20 claims, although there are some patentswith only one claim and others with hundreds ofclaims.


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Some facts

The claim limits the extent of patent

This insures that the inventor does not

define his patent in very broad term.

Eg.


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The Claim can be categorized as:

1. Main claim

2. Subordinate claim

3. Omnibus claim


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There are two types of claims

Independent claims and

Dependent claims.


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Independent Claim

As the names imply, independent claims

stand alone and do not need to be read

with other claims in order to interpret them.

Each independent claim consists of three

parts: the preamble, a transitional wordor phrase, and the body.


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Independent Claim

Preamble: The function of the preamble is toset forth the general technical environment

of the invention. For example, a claim to an

improved washing machine might have the

preamble "A washing machine . . . ." The

preamble is usually not considered to be a

legally limiting constraint on the invention.The limiting constraints are found later in the

body of the claim


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2. Transitional word or phrase

The transitional word or phrase comes

between the preamble and the body.

There are basically three transitions used:

"comprising" or "which comprises,""consisting of," and "consisting essentially

of."


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3.The Body

The body of the claim follows the transitional phraseand lists the main elements of the combination. It is

here that the invention is particularly claimed. The

body of the claim of a machine invention, for example,

lists the parts of the machine in some sort of logicalorder so as to recite the mechanical interrelationship

of the parts of the machine. In another example, the

claims to a chemical invention may show a chemical

formula or a representation of a chemical molecule.

Finally, the claims to a method invention will list the

method steps generally in the order in which they are

to be carried out.


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Because the claim is a single sentence,special punctuation conventions have been

developed and are being increasingly usedby patent attorneys. Modern claims follow aset format whereby the preamble isseparated from the transitional term by acomma while the transitional term isseparated from the body by a colon. Eachof the elements of the invention in the body

of the claim are in separate paragraphs,which are set apart from other paragraphsby a semi-colon.


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Dependent Claim

Dependent claims, on the other hand, haveto be read in conjunction with the claim on

which it depends. Hence, if you see a patent

claim that states "The machine of Claim 1,"

the claim is a dependent claim that includes

all of the limitations of the claim or claims

from which it depends.


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PRIOR ART LIMITS THE SCOPE

OF PATENT CLAIMS

The requirementfor novelty of 35

USC 102 means

that a patent claim

cannot include

what is already in

the prior art.


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Other Types of Claims

1.Functional Claims

2.Structural Claims

3.Mean plus function claims

4.Product by process claims

5.Jepson claims

patent claim

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