The Specification of a Patent Application



Posted: Wednesday, July 22, 2009

by ANDREW SCHROEDER
Law Office of Andrew Schroeder

You can think of the specification of a patent application as being similar to a candy bar wrapper. On every candy bar wrapper there will be a list of ingredients: sugar, chocolate, corn syrup, nuts, etc. As with candy bar wrappers, the specification of a patent application will have a list of ingredients, or components which enumerate all of the different types of parts that can be used in that invention.

For instance, there are many types of candy bars: there are chocolate candy bars, toffee candy bars, milk chocolate candy bars, energy bars, etc. Unlike candy bars, a patent specification may have the ingredients to cover several different types of alternative embodiments, or candy bars. This is because in a patent application you may want to how to make a chocolate candy bar, a toffee candy bar, an energy bar, etc. So a patent specification will usually list more components of an invention than are actually used with each embodiment. In other words, in some inventions you may use tape, in others you may use glue, or in others, you may use a nail. You get the idea.

You can also think of a patent specification as the instruction manual on how to assemble that bookshelf you bought at the store. In those manuals they will usually list all of those parts, but they will also show you how they are connected with each other (the leg bone is connected to the thigh bone, the thigh bone is connected to the) Likewise, patent specifications will usually dictate how those parts will be interrelated or connected with each other in order to enable one skilled in the art to practice the invention.

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Andrew Y. Schroeder, Esq. is a Los Angeles based Intellectual Property Attorney.  The Law Office of Andrew Schroeder specializes in Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights.  Andrew Y. Schroeder is licensed to practice before the USPTO (United States Patent & Trademark Office)


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