“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.