Patent Claims

In a patent application, the written claims define the inventive subject matter. They are only required in the permanent patent application, not the provisional. Once issued, the claims determine the scope of the invention and at times, whether or not it is being infringed. So you can say that a patent's claims are right at the heart of a patent. It is the single most important job your attorney has. Use an experienced one.

Although provisional applications do not require written legal claims, they may be included. Some attorneys believe at least one shold be included, others do not. Some believe that including a claim may actually narrow the potential scope and interpretation of the contents of a provisional application. The laws do not require it. Should you inlcude a claim, make it as broad as you can imagine. It can always be narrowed later on.

Claims are listed in the last section of the patent application. The best method for an inventor to ensure that he will have the broadest scope, is to prepare a claim statement (in layperson terms) like the one in From Patent to Profit or Patent Writer. Your patent attorney should use this statement for editing and filing. Do it right from the onset, because you only have one chance and it's a big expense.