What are the requirements of a patent application?
Denver Patent Attorney Mark Trenner discusses one of the most common questions inventors ask. In this video, learn some of the basic patent application requirements.
I’m not going to answer this question for you because I want every inventor to go out and file their own patent application. Just like you shouldn’t rely entirely on your own patent search. As a patent attorney, I would never advise that an inventor file their own patent application. There are just too many mistakes that an inventor could make that may result in the patent application being invalid and some or all rights to the invention being lost.
You may not get a patent to issue if you write your own patent application
Instead, I want you to know what a patent attorney can do for you.
The Basic Patent Application Requirements
A patent application has a specification and drawings. Here are the parts, form, and content of a patent application required by the US Patent Office. The specification should be specific AND broad. The specification will have:
- a brief background of the technical field;
- a description of the drawings;
- a detailed description of the invention with specific reference to the drawings; and
- at least one claim.
The claims are important – they define the invention.
The patent application claims define the invention
Claims set forth the inventor’s the property right. That’s what the Patent Examiner will be looking at most closely. If a patent issues, the claim will define what only the patent owner can make, use, and sell. Anyone else would need a license – or be infringing the patent claim.
Learn more about patents with our patent attorney videos. Remember, the video is just general information. Always speak with a licensed patent attorney to avoid losing important legal rights to your invention.
