Developing an invention is not the only task you need to accomplish as an inventor. Your invention is of no use unless you get the patent grant of it. Without this, it won’t get the tag of an invention, and neither you will be the inventor of it. A patent grant registers the invention on your name. It further prevents others from copying your idea and using it for their benefit. Thus, you need to follow the steps of patent drafting, to obtain the patent grant easily.
If you don’t know about patent drafting, then nothing to worry about. This article will clear all the questions you have about it. Thus read till end.
Also read: Patent Draft: What do you understand about it?
What is Patent Drafting?
The process of obtaining a patent grant starts with filing a patent application with the USPTO, WIPO, or regional patent offices. However, the patent application that you file decides whether you will get a patent grant or not. Thus, it must be well-written meeting all the standards and criteria of the patent office.
So, you must follow a stringent process that gives the full details and description of your invention. The description in application must tell why your invention is original, novel, and, applicable. To prove this you must attach all the important facets and search reports you generate prior to filing. And, the stringent process you follow to develop your patent application, is nothing but patent drafting.
How do you write a draft for a patent?
After reading down the importance of patent drafting, you must be wondering, how to write a patent? If that is so, then this section of the article is your answer. Writing a patent is no less than an art, and to learn it you need years and decades of practice. However, your invention could not wait till then to get a patent grant. Hence, the best option is to hire a professional patent attorney, to draft your patent application.
Writing a patent yourself will generate a lot of unnoticed errors in the application. Thus, at the time of patent examination, the examiner will assume that the applicant does not have a clear idea of the patent prosecution procedure. Also, you will not be able to provide the details of the invention efficiently in the application. It limits the scope of your invention, and, you will receive office action. This can be avoided by hiring an experienced patent attorney.
So you can say that value of your invention largely depends upon the skilled preparation of its patent draft. And later its prosecution by a patent attorney. They help you to prove why your invention is novel, applicable, and deserves patent rights.
Also read: What is a Provisional Patent Application?
What are the major steps involved in Patent Drafting?
Following are important steps you must adhere to while you sit to write a patent draft for your invention. All your questions, i.e. how to draft a patent, what to follow, and what not, are answered below. So read these points carefully and follow them religiously.
Hire a Patent Professional
This point we have already cleared above, why you need to hire a professional patent drafter for your patent application. But here we would once more like to reiterate it because it’s necessary to do so. Hiring a patent attorney to write a patent is the most important step of patent drafting.
You might be a good inventor who is analytical and intellectual. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that you can be a good technical patent writer. Thus, when you decide to publicize your invention you need to be sure the patent examiner can understand it. More than that you need to ensure, that the general public understands it. If the readers don’t understand what your patent is all about, the application is not up to the mark.
Hence, it won’t get the patent grant and you raise the risk of revealing your invention to your competitors without even protecting it. If you invent an idea, methodology, or design then the patent attorney implements them clearly in the application.
The patent attorney you hire must be good at communicating the broad concepts of your invention. It must also be good in ensuring grammatically correct sentences and other details. Focusing on such small things makes the difference, which only the experienced patent drafting eyes of any attorney can see.
Also, working with the patent attorney will add to your wisdom, that is what makes a good patent application.
Thorough Prior Art Search is important
Prior art search is important, as if even a single prior art is found you will receive office action. But don’t worry, this is for what you hire the patent attorney. They use Semantic and Boolean search techniques to ensure your prior art search includes all relevant things matching your invention. It includes searching matching keywords, translations, synonyms, and similarities—along with relevant assignees, inventors, industries, categories, and technical patent office classifications.
This search report will help you understand whether your invention is novel and patentable or not. If the report is in your favor you can sight it as a proof of novelty in the patent application.
Also read: PCT Patent Definition: Learn all about it
Drafting Claims Broadly
While drafting the patent, you need to make your claims as broad as possible. Because each word you write in application, introduces an element of the invention. If these elements are unclear, your competitors may modify it and develop similar invention to you without infringing your invention. Hence, making clear and broad claims is important. It prevents others from infringing your patent.
Also, you need to mention such elements that distinguish your claims from the prior art. Further, don’t describe things which are not necessary to describe, as it makes the application bulky. And, it also gives your competitors to design their claims around it, and infringe your patent.
Align all claims and details properly in the application
While writing a patent, your application must include details and written specification of your invention. The idea is to describe, how your invention is made, and how it works. Thus, you need to attach patent drawings for easy understanding and details of all the technical specifications of invention. Do this for every claim you mention, it makes your point look convincing. If any of your claims don’t include written specification, it creates space for office action. Even if it goes unnoticed during examination and you get patent grant, a competitor may invalidate your claims in future.
Write multiple claims during patent drafting
Think of your patent application as a castle standing on the pillars of claims. Thus, even if a competitor knocks out one of your claims, there are others to still support your patent. Further, what you write in patent application is subject to different interpretation by different peoples. Hence, having more number of claims will make things clear about your invention. No one can interpret it vaguely when things are clear in patent draft. This prevents the possible future infringement and invalidation in future.
Thus incorporating multiple claims keep the competitors away from your invention. Further, while writing multiple claims, use dependent claims, which limit the other claims. You also need to use independent claims, that define your invention from every angle. A mix of all these things, makes your invention look novel and unique.
Writing a clear patent draft is important
Clarity in patent application during patent drafting is very critical before you file your invention in public domain. It is because English language is full of interpretation. Thus even a single mistake while formatting the patent draft will introduce the ambiguity in your application. Always proofread the following things, after the patent drafting is complete.
Give optimized Details in Patent Draft
Giving too much as well as too less details are harmful for your patent application. As both the scenarios makes the reader difficult to understand your invention. Hence, you need to come to point, mention the problem, give its solution, and prove the novelty of your solution (invention).
When you describe your invention, work with the idea of rules of enablement. It means creating a document, that allows any skillful person to use the invention without any experiment and difficulty. Just like you use different machines in your home with ease. Thus, this much details in necessary to provide in the draft.
But if you keep your patent draft unclear with little details, the readers will make assumptions as per their understanding. It can be totally off track from what you want to convey. Thus, it will create problems in future. Hence, focusing on giving optimum details is important.
Check the ambiguity in application
Ambiguity means when something is not clear in your application. There is a general tendency of using pronouns in patent drafting. However, use of pronouns leave readers confuse as to what that pronoun refers to. Like, “The new configuration consumed 20% less space than the previous design. It had a footprint of 12 square feet,” does “it” refer to the new configuration or the previous design? It is not obvious. Thus, your claims must be clear and contextual so that any one can understand your claims.
Checking for Grammatical and Spelling Mistakes
Though it seems a very minor thing to keep the focus on, it can drive the major consequences for you. It is because a single grammatical or spelling mistake can totally turn the meaning you want to convey. You want to tell something but the mistakes you do tell something else. Hence, it often leads to infringement on others’ rights and invites patent office action. In fact, it is one of the major reasons for office action. Thus, the best idea is to never proofread the patent draft yourself, instead hire a proof proofreader. They do the proofreading after patent drafting and give you a non-bias review report of your patent draft.
Choose “Patent Paralegal Force” for your patent drafting needs
The importance of following crucial steps during patent drafting is clear from the sections you read above. You can’t afford to do a single mistake during it or else face the patent office actions. However, patent drafting and later patent filing is no easy nut to crack. It is composed of n number of steps till you finally get the patent grant. Thus you need a professional patent attorney, who is exposed to patent laws of multiple countries. They can help you meet the challenges met in patent drafting during the patent filing process. Thus, they make your foreign patent filing smooth and quick. That is why you need to choose us, “Patent Paralegal Force”
Our workforce consists of trained and experienced patent experts who have in-depth knowledge of all the technical domains. Thus, taking our help will make you produce a patent application with well-written claims. Customer satisfaction is a priority for us, and hence. Our state-of-the-art tools help us to give the services you desire for. Read more about us here.