The Patent Description

A patent application must fulfil different purposes. First, it must provide the necessary information to prove the novelty, non--obviousness and utility of the invention in order to successfully pass examination by the patent office and, if required, to defend the invention against opposition and infringement by third parties. Second, it must describe the invention in sufficient detail to enable others to reproduce the invention. Third, it must specify what exactly the applicant intends to claim. 

As for scientific papers, a certain scheme has been shown to be most suitable to meet the necessary requirements, and applicants or scientists who draft a patent application for their invention are well advised to adhere to this scheme. Studying earlier patents or patent applications will enable an applicant to become acquainted with the usual form of patents. Alternatively applicants can have patent attorneys prepare the application for them. 

A short paragraph usually outlines the unsolved problem, which the invention addresses, and emphasizes the inventive, non-obvious element of the invention. This is followed by a detailed description of the invention. It is a statutory requirement that the invention must be disclosed completely so as to enable any person skilled in the art. .. to make and to use the same,. ..and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention (35 USC, 112 similar wording in EPC, Article 83). 

All materials used, including microorganisms and cells, should be identified according to a generally accepted nomenclature. The origin or method of isolation must be revealed, and all necessary 

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Having confirmed that a certain depository is recognized by the patent office of the country where the patent application is due to be filed and that the depository is able to handle the specimens in question (for safety reasons certain samples may not be acceptable in some institutions, and some countries may not accept certain biological samples for quarantine reasons), the deposit must be made by the date of filing of the application. The institution where the deposit was made, the accession number which identifies it and the date of the deposit must be mentioned in the patent description. 

A patent must end with one or more patent claims which describe the patented subject matter as unambiguously as possible. Patent claims may be considered as the definition of the patent scope for legal purposes. The precedent patent description has to justify all aspects of the patent claims and will be used for this purpose during the examination process. But only in cases of doubt will details of the patent description be used later on to interpret the patent claims. Thus, patent claims must be formulated with the utmost care. The three basic requirements novelty, non-obviousness and utility have to apply to... 

Evidence that the patent description does not sufficiently enable others to reproduce the invention to the extent given by the claims can be used successfully to render an entire patent or certain individual patent claims invalid. In practice, this would be a very expensive and difficult exercise, however, this situation can emerge if two competitors simultaneously work on the same invention. 

It will be noted that this type of complex-formation is entirely different from that in which complexes are formed between amylose and certain polar, organic compounds. In contrast to the precipitates of the latter complexes (which are of a distinct, crystalline appearance), the starch-alkaline-earth hydroxide complexes are amorphous, curdlike flocculates. These complexes di,s.sociate on diluting them with water, and the starch redissolves. According to the patent description, the amylose complexes dissolve much more easily than the amylopectin complexes hence, fractionation must occur if water is added stepwise. Likewise, fractionation will take place if the starch complexes are partially neutralized, by the gradual addition of an acid. For obvious reasons, such acids as carbonic acid and sulfuric acid (which give insoluble calcium salts) are preferred. Furthermore, it is claimed that gradual addition of caustic alkali to a starch solu-... 

Kawaguchi and coworkers at Teijin have prepared a series of polymers based on poly(diallyl amine), its copolymer with sulfur dioxide, and various terpolymers.39 The chemistry of this polymer synthesis is shown below. The patent description shows the diallylamine polymers to be polypiperidine (six-membered ring) derivatives, but there are a number of publications that show this monomer to produce preferably polypyrrolidine (five-membered ring) structures ... 

The reaction is carried out at 600 °C. The products are cooled in the heat exchanger by the incoming gas to 205 °C and directed into the refrigerator and then into the water scrubber, where a 5—10% solution of formaldehyde is prepared. The solution is neutralized to remove formic acid and then distilled imder pressure to obtain a 34% solution of formaldehyde with 3% methanol. Consuming 203.3 m of methane per hour, the installation produced 26.4 kg/h of formaldehyde, i.e., selectivity of its formation was 9.7% [93]. Thus, although the patent description claimed a )deld of 35%, the actual yield was only 10%. The rest of the methane... 

METHOD 4 This is a P2P recipe that Strike has no hand in. Strike never even knew about it until Strike saw everybody talking about it on the net. But it seems to be extremely popular. Shulgin has written about it. Uncle Fester, Strike understands, has written about it. And there seems to be a lot of posts regarding its high success rates. Most people get started from the method description in the patent literature where they were first published. The following are some representative examples from the U.S. Patent 4,638,094 Process for Producing Phenylacetones ... 

The printed pubHshed document which represents the patent rights granted by the Federal Government can be a complex Hterary work. There are specific and rigid legal requirements for the description, disclosure, and definiteness which support these affirmative rights and enable enforcement of those rights by the inventor or owner of the patent. The basis for this fiiU and complete disclosure of the invention in the patent is clearly articulated in the U.S. Constitution. 

A patent is intended to further the development of science and technology by providing a pubHshed record of technological developments for all to read, consider, and discuss. At the same time, a patent provides a delineation or definition of the rights which the patent owner considers its own through the claims appended to the patent. The pubHcation of a description of the invention in conjunction with the claimed limits of the invention provides the pubHc with notice of the patent owner s affirmative rights to the invention. 

Apart from the technical classification information, E, the front page of the patent also contains a listing of pubHcations or references cited during examination, G, including "United States Patent Documents," "Eoreign Patent Documents," and "Other PubHcations" such as trade Hterature, journal articles, and product descriptions. 

A description or explanation of the background of the invention, N, may also be provided by the inventor. This background section discusses previous developments of inventors working in the same area of technology and may also Hst pubHcations or patents that have discussed these developments and predate the filing date of the patent appUcation. The background section may also point to deficiencies in the prior developments that the inventor intends to overcome. 

Tlie next section of the patent is tided "The Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment", Q (Fig. lb), often a multipage work serving several functions. First, the detailed description should provide an illustration of the invention in both its broadest or simplest sense and in its most preferred sense. Any elements of the invention that the inventor beheves are crucial to the success or performance of the invention must also be included within this description. Further, tbi< description should provide an explanation of the invention that is definite and illustrative, so as to allow persons having nothing but die patent before diem to practice or use die invention in the manner intended. This description should be understood by those who work in the area that covers the subject matter of the patent. 

The final section of an issued patent is the claims, S. A United States patent is requited bylaw to have at least one claim. The claims lepiesent the legal definition and boundaries of the rights resulting from the patent grant. Patent claims are analogous to the legal description which one might find on a tide to real estate. 

When evaluating an issued patent for purposes of determining the patentabiUty of a new invention, the entire patent must be considered. As a result, the figures, K, and The Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment, Q, are every bit as important to an issued patent as the claims, S. At certain times any one of these elements may become more relevant than another. For example, claims tend to be more relevant to deterrninations of patent infringement or violation. However, in deterrninations concerning the patentabiUty of new inventions, the figures, K, and The Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment, Q, may be the most relevant aspects of any previous patent. 

Definiteness. Adequate description or definiteness requites that the patent claims provide an outline of those elements which are integral to the appHcation s invention. In turn, the specification acts as a dictionary wherein the reader can interpret and understand the elements in the patent claims. Complementary to the requirement of definiteness is the requirement that the appHcation must disclose the entire invention. The appHcant cannot make a claim of right to the invention where essential elements of the invention are not disclosed in the patent. 

Patent laws provide for several stages in the life of an application for a patent on an invention. The pattern followed by patent laws in effect in most industrialized countries during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and still in effect in the United States in 1995, calls for the examination of all patent appHcations to certify that the claimed invention meets the national standards for novelty, usehilness, and inventiveness. The owner of the technology to be patented files appHcation papers that include a specification containing a description of the invention to be patented (called the disclosure) and claims defining the limits of the invention to be protected by the patent, a formal request for the issuance of a patent, and fees. Drawings of devices and apparatuses, electrical circuits, flow charts, etc, are an important part of the disclosures of most nonchemical and many chemical patents. 

The bulk of the patent specification is the disclosure, the text and illustrations that describe the claimed invention in detail and explain how the claimed invention differs from the prior art. Modem patent disclosures contain a summary of the claimed invention, a description of the background of the invention, a general description of the way in which the invention is made and used, specific examples, and, where appHcable, drawings of the invention in general or specific embodiments. The technical information provided in a patent specification may be used without infringing the patent only practicing the invention defined in the claims within the term and territory of the patent grant is forbidden. Because much of the information in patent specifications is never pubHshed in refereed journals or other nonpatent media, patent disclosures are an invaluable part of the technical Hterature. 

Siace nitroarenes are reported to be catalyst poisons (18), the concentration of DNT ia the reaction medium is kept as low as is practical with regard to production goals and catalyst usage. The pubHshed kinetic studies are of Htde iadustrial value siace they describe batch processes with high DNT catalyst ratios (18—21). The effects of important process variables, such as temperature and pressure, can only be iaferred from descriptions ia the patent Hterature. 

Patent, n. patent (in the proper sense cf. Ge-brauchsmuster). -amt, n. patent office, -an-meldimg, f. application for a patent, -an-spruchi m. patent claim, -anwalt, m. patent attorney, -beschreibung,/. patent description or specification, -blatt, n. patent gazette. -dauer, /. life of a patent, -ein-spruch, m. patent interference, patentfahig, a. patentable. 

The following description is taken from U.S. Patent 3,116,203. A stirred solution of 75 g of 2-amino.2 -nitrobenzophenone in 700 ml of hot concentrated hydrochloric acid was cooled to 0°C and a solution of 21.5 g of sodium nitrite in 50 ml of water was added in the course of 3 hours. The temperature of the suspension was kept at 2° to 7°C during the addition. The resulting clear solution was poured into a stirred solution of 37 g of cuprous chloride in 350 ml of hydrochloric acid 1 1. The solid which had formed after a few minutes was filtered off, washed with water and recrystallized from ethanol. Crystals of 2-chloro-2 -nitrobenzophenone melting at 76° to 79°C were obtained. 

The following description is from U.S. Patent 2,701,227 To 50 liters of distilled water there was added 10.17 kg of enzyme hydrolyzed casein (N-Z-Amine). The temperature was raised to 100°C and held until the casein digest solution was clear. The container was then cooled rapidly to 15°C and the cooled solution filtered through a coarse grade of filter paper. A small amount of toluene was added as a preservative and the solution... 

The following description is taken from U.S. Patent 2,712,012 2.3 parts of clean sodium metal is dissolved in 50 parts of anhydrous methyl alcohol. 11.4 parts of 3-sulfanilamido-6-chloropyridazine is added and the mixture heated in a sealed tube 13 hours at 130° to 140°C. After the tube has cooled it is opened and the reaction mixture filtered, acidified with dilute acetic acid, then evaporated to dryness on the steam bath. The residue is dissolved in 80 parts of 5% sodium hydroxide, chilled and acidified with dilute acetic acid. The crude product is filtered and then recrystallized from water to give 3-sulfanilamido-6-methoxypyridazine of melting point 182° to 183°C. 

Trade secrets are creative works (usually methods, processes, or designs) that are not covered by the strict definition of an invention required for a legal patent. Or they are actual inventions that a company or individual does not want to expose to public scrutiny through the patent process (since the published patent must contain a written description of the invention). 

Since that time much work has been done in the area of siloxane-imide systems, especially in industrial laboratories. Therefore most of the available information is enclosed in the patent literature 168 175) and, unfortunately, description of the actual polymerization chemistry is very vague. A great majority of these applications utilized disiloxanes in high concentrations in order to obtain soluble polymers with improved toughness. 

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