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Patent Claims
“Claims” are the invention definitions at the end of all patent
applications. Claims play a critical role in determining the value
of a patent. No matter how great the idea or invention, if the
claims aren’t carefully thought through, and well-written, it is
likely that the invention will get significantly less patent
protection than may be available.
Claims stake out the territory of the invention: what is covered by
the patent and what is not covered. Claims for a particular
invention can be written many different ways, just as it is possible
to describe something in different words. In the case of writing
claims, word selection is very important, because a single word may
determine whether or not a patent holds up if challenged in Court.
The goal is usually to get as much protection as possible for the
inventor. Often the extent of entitlement is not obvious at first to
the inventor but can be determined through consultation with an
experienced patent attorney and by performing a competent patent
search.
Claims may be narrow or broad in scope. The advantage of a broad
claim is that it grabs a lot of territory, if the inventor can get
it and keep it. A broader claim allows the inventor to protect a
greater variety of alternate versions of the invention. A
disadvantage of a broad claim is the greater likelihood of bumping
into prior inventions, which could invalidate the claim. Narrower
claims are easier to obtain and defend, but reduce the number of
people the inventor can license to or charge as potential
infringers.
Tiers of claims are usually used for many reasons. A hierarchy of
claims can be used to strategically carve out many different niches
of territory, and can also be used to set up a hierarchy of
territories, so that if portions are lost in litigation, the
inventor still has some protection left to fall back on.
Depending on a variety of factors, different strategies may be
called for in crafting claims, and there are usually many claims in
a single patent application.
Lastly, it is important that the description portion of the patent
application be fine-tuned by an expert to enable and support the
Claims, especially the broadest, most powerful ones.
Patent
Illustrations
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