What is a Patent Application?

A Patent Application is the initial version of an invention which is submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The Patent Application consists of all the information which will eventually become a full United States Patent after being reviewed by the USPTO. The Application consists of several parts which describe the invention in full. The first part of the Application is the Abstract, which briefly describes the parts and purposes of the invention and some other basic information.

Inventor Tip:

Registering your idea early could be vital to keeping your rights. Sometimes it's a race to the patent office, as was the case with the telephone with two patents being filed the very same day. Do you even know the name of the OTHER guy?

Patent Application: Figures (Drawings)

All Patent Applications include a number of drawings or ‘figures’ which show the parts of the invention in detail. The figures may include pictures of the device, cutaway views, electrical schematics, pictures of a device in use, and other useful views. The figures help a reader to visualize the invention and understand how it works at a quick glance.

Patent Application: Background

The background section of the Patent Application includes information about the “field” of the invention. In other words, what other related inventions have been previously patented and why are there still outstanding needs or problems that have not been resolved? The background may include references to existing patents and a discussion of issues that still need to be addressed.

Patent Application: Summary

The summary section of the Application discusses the basic “objects” or goals of the invention. The summary complements the background by discussing how the new invention addresses the outstanding problems and a brief description of how the invention is constructed, etc. – a summary of the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of the invention.

Patent Application: Engineering Specification

All Utility Patents include an engineering specification, which provides a detailed technical schematic of the invention. An engineering specification should be detailed enough that someone with no prior knowledge of the invention, but with some knowledge in the same area of technology, could build the invention and have it working in exactly the way the inventor intended. The engineering specification often references the drawings.

Patent Application: Claims

The claims are the meat and bones of the Patent. The claims are legal statements at the end of the Application that describe which parts of the invention are being “claimed” as new. The claims provide information as to what is actually being patented. If an inventor wanted to show that someone was infringing on their idea, they would look to the claims section.