When you are in the process of securing protection for your innovation, proofreading a patent is highly crucial. You will take a lot of time and energy to prepare your patent draft. However, there will be a chance that you’ll find areas of improvement after you have finished the draft.
However, detecting these areas of improvement is subject to proofreading a patent application. Patent proofreading is the process that identifies the errors in a patent application. It is a crucial step in controlling the quality of patents and ensuring enforceability. These errors may exist in the form of tiny technical faults to gaping holes in the claims section. Either way, you must fix all of them.
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How can Proofreading a Patent Help You?
It is safe to say that proofreading a patent is very important. But how exactly will it be of use to you? The following points are the most important and you must keep them in mind during and after drafting your application.
Technical Soundness
You must ensure that the draft hits the checkmark for all the technicalities. The USPTO has certain guidelines of varying degrees that you must comply with. These can range from rules for rendering illustrations to the acceptable writing style for the entire application. Sometimes, you might miss out on something and that can cause problems at the time of the examination. Therefore, proofreading a patent will ensure that everything is in fact in place.
Describing the Functionality – An Enabling Invention
Your writing skill might be incredible and the patent application is very meticulously written. However, there is always a chance that there are certain gaps in explaining its functionality. You should ensure that you have an enabling invention. But what exactly does it mean? Basically, a person from the same field as that of the invention should be able to make/perform the invention without any undue effort. Lack of clarity in this domain might lead to rejection of the patent application. Hence, you must proofread your description to ensure this is not the case.
This is one of the biggest patent proofreading advantages as it can save your application from rejection. You must look at the General Information Concerning Patents.
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Claim Structure
If your patent application is a living organism, then the claims are its heart. The claims are the deciding factor in terms of the scope of the protection your patent will provide. While proofreading a patent, double-checking the claims will ensure that you clearly distinguish between disclosure and claims so that your novelty is intact. You must proofread the claims to ensure that they are comprehensive in their coverage and also check for ambiguous references. Ultimately, a solid and definitive claim structure will boost your chances of getting a patent.
See the following example which describes the claims section of a patent application for an automobile.
(a) A body carriage having rotatable wheels mounted thereunder for enabling said body carriage to roll along a surface
(b) An engine mounted in said carriage for producing rotational energy, and
(c) Means for controllably coupling rotational energy from said engine to at least one of said wheels, whereby said carriage can be self-propelled along said surface.
Amongst all the benefits of proofreading a patent, this has to go down as the biggest.
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Choice of Words and Grammar
You might believe that this is probably insignificant. But let us tell you, this can prove to be the deciding factor when it comes to patent infringement cases. Read the following case of Gillette Co. VS Energizer Holdings Inc., 2004:
Gillette had a patent for Mach 3 razor, which has 3 blades. Energizer Holdings came up with a similar product, the Schick Quattro razor with 4 blades. Gillette felt that this is a case of patent infringement and took the case to court. Their patent specification’s language became their own enemy, as they didn’t clearly cover the use of multiple blades. The language of the specification was such that it would provide coverage for 3 blade razors only. However, the Quattro razor had 4 blades, which isn’t 3, and on this ground, Gillette lost the case.
Fig. The Schick Quattro and the Mach 3
This is a game between structuring the claims and using the right words.
Need Patent Proofreading Services? – The Patent Proofreading Company
You can see the benefits of proofreading a patent. It becomes highly critical at this point because it can potentially save your patent from exposure. You may be unsure of proofreading your own documents because you might or might not find the errors. So, if you’re to hire a professional, you can contact The Patent Proofreading Company. We provide the industry’s most comprehensive proofreading service with the help of our technical expert team. The team reviews inconsistencies to determine whether the patent application or existing patent is correct. Our reliable and cost-effective proofreading service ensures that your application is free of any errors.
To make an inquiry, visit The Patent Proofreading Company Services.
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