Understanding Inventive Specification In Patent Applications

Inventive Specification In Patent Applications

To obtain a patent, the inventor has to file a patent application containing a specification. The object of the specification is to provide complete information to the public about the invention and the mode of carrying it out and to define the boundaries of the invention. This article is the continuation of various stages of the patent, the previous stages of the article could be read by clicking here.

The specification has to contain a written description of the invention and of the manner and process of making and using it. The written description will contain several drawings where and when are required to clearly describe the mechanism of the invention.

A model or sample may have to be submitted if the patent office requires such a model or sample as an illustration of the invention. However, such a model or sample will not form part of the specification. If the invention involves biological materials, the biological materials may be deposited at a recognized depository in order to describe the invention and such materials would form part of the specification.

The specification has to enable the invention, which means it must fully and particularly describe the invention and its operation or use and the method by which it is to be performed. It must describe the embodiment of the invention claimed in each of the claims. The description of the invention must be so clear that any person in the field can carry it out and no further experimentation must be required to practice the invention.

The specification must also disclose the best method of performing the invention which is known to the applicant at the time of filing the patent application. Furthermore, the specification has to end with a claim or claims defining the scope of the invention for which protection is claimed. The function of the claims is to define the metes and bounds of the invention claimed in the patent application.

Claims in a specification have to relate to a single inventive concept and be clear and succinct. The claims must mark out with adequate distinctiveness, the boundary of the territory of the invention sought to be protected. The principle idea in the invention has to be presented in the claims and must not be left for a general review of the specification. All claims in the patent have to be supported by the matter provided in the written description of the specification.

Though the specification requirement is normally not listed as one of the patentability requirements, it is as important as other requirements. If the invention is not fully described, claimed, supported or enabled in the specification, the patent application will be rejected. Through the specification, the inventor has to show that he is not only in possession of the invention, but also that the invention is workable without undue experimentation.

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