Patent application The standards for an acceptable patent application have been determined by the Patent and Trademark Office. An inventor must submit an application to get the ball rolling in order to protect his or her invention.
Basically, a regular patent application should include:
• a self-addressed receipt postcard
• a check for all the fees (may be filed later)
• an oath or declaration (may be filed later)
• a transmittal letter
• a fee transmittal form
• drawings
• the specification (description of invention)
• the claim(s)
• an abstract
• a Patent Application Declaration (PAD)
• a Small Entity Declaration (SED) to obtain lower fees if the inventor(s) qualifies
• an Information Disclosure Statement (IDS)
This application filing date will be the starting date for the patent (20 years), if it is accepted. If a provisional application (these do not require claims) was sent in, the filing date will serve to “hold the invention”.
1) Cover sheet:
-A cover sheet states the basics of the application, such as what type of application it is (nonprovisional utility, etc…) and lists the names and residences of the inventors and the title of the invention. It also states who any correspondence should be sent to in addition to important identification numbers. These identification numbers are used almost exclusively to identify an application, for instance, a response without the patent application number will usually just be returned to the sender.
2) Oath or declaration:
-The oath or declaration includes verification that the inventors listed are accurate and that each has reviewed and understands the contents of the specification and claims.
3) Specification:
-The specification contains a written description of the invention, including how to make and use it. It should also include a description of all the related art which serves as a background. The specification section ends with the claims. This is where the applicant attempts to point out very specifically what the invention “claims” to do.
-The claims are probably the most important part of an application, and they are absolutely the area most scrutinized by the examiner. The claims determine the protection afforded to the applicant and define the invention. In the case of an infringement trial, the claims will set the boundaries of the invention, therefore aiding in determining whether or not an infringement exists.
4) Drawings:
-Drawings must be present in an application when they are necessary to aid in the description and understanding of the invention (which is the case the majority of the time).
5) Information disclosure statement:
-The information disclosure statement is an optional section. It serves as an in depth background of the materials disclosed in the application. In a sense, it is similar to the bibliography of a term paper.
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