The preparation of a patent specification

THEPREPARATIONOFAPATENTSPECIFICATION

LOUIS-PIERREGRAVELLE*
LEGERROBICRICHARD,
LLP
L
AWYERS,PATENT&TRADEMARKAGENTS

THEPREPARATIONOFAPATENTSPECIFICATION

Thespecificationofapatentapplicationisakeystoneinthepatentsystem.Infact,
inCanada,thespecificationratesaparagraph[27(3)]inthePatentAct,wherethe
contentsofthespecificationareoutlined.Thedescriptionoftheinventionprovided
forthereinisatthecentreofthebargainbetweentheinventorandtheState.In
returnfordetailsonhowtheinventionworks,andtoprovideguidancetopracticeor
constructtheinvention,theinventorisgivenaperiodoftimeduringwhichthe
inventorcanpreventothersfrompracticingtheinvention.

Thus,inresponsetothequestion“whatisyourinventionandhowdoesitwork”,the
inventorpreparesthespecification.Withrespecttothesequestions,thedescription
mustbecorrectandfull.Notonlyisthisimportantforthepublictounderstandthe
contextoftheinvention,andtoeventuallydeterminethemetesandboundsofthe
grantofthepatent,thespecificationalsoservesitspurposeoncetheperiodof
validityofthepatentisexpired:topermitthosewishingtoreproducetheinventionfor
doingsowithaminimumofexperimentation.
THECONTENTOFTHESPECIFICATIONOFAPATENT

Thepurposeofthespecificationistodescribetheinventionanditsapplicationor
exploitation,asdevisedbytheinventor(s),andtoexplainthecontextsurroundingthe
invention.
Thespecificationisdividedintotwosections,afirstoneformingwhatiscalledthe
description,followedbyasecondoneformingwhatarecalledtheclaims,wherethe
legalboundariesofthepatentareoutlined.Theroleofthedescriptionistoprovidea
personskilledintheartwithaclear,completeandaccurateteachingofwhatisthe
invention,andhowtomakeitandputitintopractice.Itisusedtosetforththe

©CIPS,2009.*Engineer,lawyerandpatentagent,Louis-PierreGravelleisapartnerwithLEGERROBIC
RICHARD,
LLP,amultidisciplinaryfirmoflawyers,andpatentandtrade-markagents.Materialused
fortheAugust2009IPIC/McGillPatentCourse.Publication393.

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embodimentsrecommendedbytheinventor(s)amongmanypossibleembodiments
oftheinvention.Theteachingmustpermitthepublictopracticetheinventionwhen
theexclusiveperiodconferredbythepatentwillexpire.Theroleoftheclaimsisto
definewithwordsthesubjectmatteroftheinventionsoughttobeprotected,sothat
whenthepatentwillissue,thepublicwillbeinpositiontodiscernthescopeofthe
exclusiverightconferredbythepatentanddeterminewhattheyarenotentitledtodo
withouttheconsentofthepatentee,otherwisetherewillbeinfringementofthe
patent.Itisworthmentioningthatthespecificationofanapplicationisdirectedtoa
personskilledintheart,sothelanguageandtheexplanationsmustbeadaptedto
thelevelofknowledgetobeexpectedfromsuchaperson.Thisdoesnotpreventthe
useofsimpletermsforsomeparticularsubjectsintheapplication,butitisuselessto
elaborateuponthesubjectsthatarewellknownbythepersonsskilledintheart.

THEDESCRIPTION

Typically,thedescriptionbroachesthefollowingtopicsinthefollowingorder
(referencecanbemadetotheattachedpatent):
1.TITLE:
Thetitleidentifiestheinventioninafewwordsrepresentativeofitscategory.

2.FIELDOFTHEINVENTION:
Thegeneraltechnicalfieldoftheinventionanditsfieldofapplicationisoutlined.

3.BACKGROUNDOFTHEPRIORART:
Thissectionsetsforththenatureoftheproblemaddressedbytheinvention,in
referencewiththepriorart,byskimmingthroughtherelevantpatentsorpublicpatent
applicationsamongthepriorart.Inotherwords,theproblemallegedlysolvedbythe
inventionissetforth,asarepriorattemptstosolvetheproblemandwhythehave
failed.
4.STATEMENTOFTHEOBJECTSOFTHEINVENTION(OPTIONALBUT
PREFERABLE):
Thissectionsetsforththeobjectsoftheinvention,allowingthereadertounderstand
therealnatureoftheinventionandtheprogressthatitrepresentsinthetechnique.

5.SUMMARYOFTHEINVENTION:

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Thissectionsetsforththeimportant(somemightsayessential)elementsofthe
inventionandisusedtosupportthebroadestclaims.Theadvantagesofthe
inventioncanbediscussed.
6.BRIEFDESCRIPTIONOFTHEDRAWINGS:
Thissectionintroducesthevariousfiguresusedinthedescriptiontoillustratethe
inventionandtoassistthereaderinunderstanding.Typically,foraninventionin
electronicsorincomputers,itisrecommendedtouseblockdiagrams,timediagrams
showingcontrolsignals,bubblediagrams,algorithms,flowcharts,etc.Forchemical
andbiotech-relatedinventions,molecularstructures,sequencelistings,process
steps,schematicrepresentationsofequipmentused,results,etc.,arealso
advantageouslyincluded.
Tomaketheinventionbetterunderstood,thepriorartcanalsobeillustrated.

7.DETAILEDDESCRIPTIONOFTHEPREFERREDEMBODIMENT(S)OFTHE
INVENTION:
Thedetaileddescriptionsetsforthoneorseveralpreferredmannerstoconstructthe
invention,inreferencetothefigures.Itisasshortandspecificasitisnecessaryfor
adequatelyandaccuratelydescribingtheinvention.Theindustrialapplication(s)of
theinventioncanbementioned.Itprovidesaclearandaccuratedescription,setting
forththenatureoftheinvention,itsoperatingmode,thewarnings(e.g.operating
rangeandconditionsforproperresults),itsuse,anddrawings(illustratingatleast
oneembodiment).
THECLAIMS

Theclaimsspecifythescopeandtheextentoftherightclaimedfortheinvention,
generallystartingbythebroadestscopetoanarrowerandmorelimitativescope.
Claimsofdifferentscopeareusedtoensureasfaraspossiblethatincaseofdispute
involvingthepatent,atleastoneclaimwillbedeclaredvalidwithrespecttotheprior
artandinfringedwithrespecttothematterindispute.

Theclaimsareusedtosetforthdistinctlyandinexplicittermsthecombinationsof
elementsthattheinventor(s)consider(s)asnovelandforwhichheclaimsthe
exclusivepropertyorprivilege.Onlytheclaimsdefinetheessentialelementsand
featuresoftheinventionforwhicharightissolicitedandgrantedbythepatent.

Eachclaimtakestheformofanumberedparagraph,comprisingonlyonesentence,
wherethereisnoplaceforambiguity.Eachclaimsetsforthacombinationof
elementsandtheirinterrelations.Eachclaimmustbesupportedbythedescription,
i.e.alltheelementsdefinedthereinmustbefoundsomehowinthedrawingsand

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description.Thepreambleofeachindependentclaimisusedtoidentifytheutilityof
theinventionandoftenitsenvironment.
Inthecaseofanapparatus,amachine,amechanism,adeviceoranengine,the
claimdefinesthestructural(functional)elementsessentialtothefunctioning,their
function,theirinput(s)/output(s),theirinteractiveandcooperativearrangementwith
theotherelementsoftheapparatus,theircomposition,theirpropertiesandthe
secondaryelementsthatformthem.
Inthecaseofamethodoraprocess,theclaimdefinesthestepsofthemethodor
theprocessingmodeoftheelementsinvolvedintheprocess.

Eachclaimhaslegalscopeindependentfromtheothers,andmustthereforeberead
andconstruedinanindependentmanner.
Initswording,aclaimcanhoweverbedependentonanotherbyreferringthereto(it
issaidthatitisattachedthereto),henceavoidingtherepetitionofthetextofthe
claimtowhichitisattached,therebyreducingredundancy.Inotherwords,a
dependentclaimmustbereadasifitwouldcomprisenotonlythematterintroduced
thereby,butalsowhatisdefinedintheclaimsfromwhichitdepends.Therefore,the
independentclaimsofapatentthatdonotrefertoanyotherclaim,definethegeneral
scopeoftheinvention.Thedependentclaimsmustontheotherhandbeconsidered
asincludingallthematteroftheclaimstowhichtheyareattached,andthus,havea
morelimitativescope.
Theabstractisnotapartofthespecification,butitisessentialinapatent
application,likethePetition.Theabstractprovidesabrieftechnicaldescriptionand
theuseofthedisclosedinventiontoallowthereadertodeterminequicklyifheis
interestedtoobtainmoreinformationabouttheinventionsbymeansofthewhole
specification.Theabstracttakestheformofasingleparagraphhavingnomorethan
150wordswhere,inadditiontotheabove-mentionedtopics,theuseoftheinvention
andtheprogressmadeintheartshouldbedefined.Theabstracthasnolegalvalue
andcannotbeusedinanymannertoconstruetheclaimsordefinethenatureofthe
invention.Theemployedlanguagemustremainsimple.

POINTSTOCLARIFYBETWEENTHEPATENTAGENTANDTHEINVENTOR
BEFOREPREPARINGTHEAPPLICATION

Theapplicantofapatenthasthedutytogiveinthespecificationalltheinformationin
hispossessiontoallowtheinventiontobeexploitedaccordingtothebestmodeof
constructiondevised.Thedescriptionmustnotcontainerroneousormisleading
statementscalculatedtodeceiveormisleadthepersonstowhomthespecificationis
addressedandmakeithardforthem,withouttestsandexperimentations,to
understandandconstructtheinvention.Sinceaninventionmustbeuseful,certain

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pointsrelatingtoitsutilitymustbefoundinthespecification.Thedescriptionmustbe
completeorelsethepatentmaybeproveninvalid.
Forthesereasons,itisessentialthattheinventorprovidesthepatentagentwithall
informationconcerningtheinventionandkeepnosecretsinordertopreventany
attackonthevalidityoftheresultingpatent.
Sinceeachclaimmustbesupportedbythedescription,itisessentialthatthe
drawingsprovidedbytheinventor(s)totheagentbewellelaborated,asthese
drawingsoftenconstitutethebaseuponwhichthepatentagentreliesallalongthe
draftingoftheapplication.
Itisimportantthattheinventorprovidescopiesofthedocumentsofthepriorart
knowntohim.Itishighlyrecommendedthatthesedocumentsbeprovidedwithout
anydiscrimination,inorderthattheagentmightdiscusstheminthebackgroundof
thepriorartintheapplication,asrequired.ThisisastatutorydutyintheUnited
States(underriskofinvalidatingthepatent).
ROLEOFTHEPATENTAGENT

Theroleofthepatentagentconsists,inadditiontothevariousservicesand
counsellingthathecanprovideduringamandate,inpreparingadraftofapatent
applicationthathewillsubmitforapprovaltotheclient,beforeproceedingwithits
filingintheconcernedcountries.Itshouldbenotedthattheagentisnotaninventor.
Thus,noinventivecontributionshouldbeexpectedfromhimevenifithappens
sometimes.Thecollaborationoftheinventorisessentialtoanswerthequestionsof
theagentbefore,duringandafterthedraftingoftheApplication,becausenooneis
betterplacedthantheinventortoexplaintheinvention.

Theagentreliesonhisexperienceandknowledgetoattempttoobtainthebest
possibleprotectionfortheinvention.Heespeciallyprovidesacapitalcontributionon
theformulationoftheclaims,sothattheirscopeandtheirextentbethelargestas
possible,whileremainingvalid.Heensuresthatthevariousrequirementsofthelaw
concerningtheformatandthecontentoftheapplicationsberespected.Besides,he
actsasacounsellorduringtheprosecutionoftheapplications,andcanevenexpress
usefulopinionstodefendtherightsconferredbyapatent,especiallyinrelationwith
potentialinfringementorthevalidityofapatent.

Thedraftingofapatentapplicationrequiresagoodcollaborationbetweenthepatent
agentandtheinventor.Thepatentagentmustexplaintotheinventorthedescriptive
elementsthatheneedstodraftthepatentapplication.Heshould,ifheconsidersthat
thedescriptionsubmittedbytheinventorisambiguousorincomplete,lethimknow
thatcertainpartsshouldbefurtherdetailed.Theexchangebetweenthepatentagent
andtheinventorhasthepurposeof,ontheonehand,toensurethatthepatentagent

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hasaverygoodunderstandingoftheinventionand,ontheotherhand,ofmakingthe
inventorunderstandwhatarethedescriptiveelementsnecessaryforthedraftingof
thepatentapplication.
THESPECIFICATION,WITHACLOSEEYEONAMERICANPRACTICE

Thespecificationmustmeetcertainrequirements.Therequirementsaccordingto
CanadianpracticeareslightlydifferentfromthoseoftheAmericanpractice.But
consideringthattheAmericanpracticeismoredemandingthantheCanadian
practiceregardingthespecification,andconsideringthatmanyapplicantsfilebothin
CanadaandtheUnitedStates,therequirementsoftheAmericanpracticewillbe
discussedsincetheyaremorethansufficientinCanada.

AccordingtotheAmericanpractice,thefirstparagraphofsection35USC§112of
theActoutlinesthelegalrequirementsforapatentspecification,andreadsas
follows:Thespecificationshallcontain(1)awrittendescriptionoftheinvention,
(2)andthemanneroftheprocessofmakingandusingit,insuchfull,
clear,conciseandexacttermastoenableapersonskilledintheartto
whichitpertains,ortowhichitismostnearlyconnected,tomakeand
usethesame,
(3)andshallsetforththebestmodecontemplatedbytheinventorfor
carryingouthisinvention.@

Therearethusthreerequirements.Thefirst(1)istodescribetheinvention,the
second(2)istodescribeanembodimenttoallowsomeoneskilledinthearttomake
andusetheinvention,andthethird(3)istodescribethebestmodecontemplatedby
theinventor.
FIRSTREQUIREMENT:DESCRIBINGTHEINVENTION

Thefirstrequirementofdescribingtheinventionhasimplicationswithrespecttowhat
canbeclaimed.Forexample,aninventordescribesinhispatentapplicationan
electroniccontrolcircuitcomprisingacombinationoflogicgates.Afterthefilingofhis
application,hethenwishestoclaimanotherequivalent(andobvious)embodiment
wherethelogicgatesarereplacedbyacircuitprovidedwithamicroprocessor.Since
thisembodimentwasnotdescribedintheapplicationasfiled,itwillnotbepossible
toclaimit.Alltheclaimedelementsmustbedescribedinthespecification,andmust
beshowninthedrawingsoftheapplication.

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Thisdoesnotmeansthattheapplicantmustliterallylimithisclaimstowhathasbeen
described.Hecan,andthisisevenhighlyrecommended,claimthebestembodiment
describedbymeansofbroadandgeneraltermstocoverotherpossible
embodiments,buthecannotspecificallyclaimembodimentsthatarenotdescribed.

Thespecificationmustbecomplete.Thisisimportantsinceapatentisacontract
betweenthegovernmentandtheinventorwherethegovernmentgrantstothe
inventorexclusiverightsforhisinventioninexchangeforacompletedescriptionof
theinvention.Iftheinventordoesnotdescribehisinventioninacompletemanner,
thiscanbeacauseforinvalidatingthepatentwhichresultsinawithdrawalofthe
exclusiverightsgrantedtotheinventorbythegovernment.Inaddition,itiscrucialto
completelydescribetheinventionatthetimeoffilingoftheapplicationsincenonew
mattercanbeaddedtoapatentapplicationoncefiled.

Thecaveattothisrequirementliesinthetheoryofsoundprediction,discussedinthe
accompanyingarticlebyBobH.Sotiriadisetal.
SECONDREQUIREMENT:DESCRIBINGTHEINVENTIONTOENABLEA
PERSONSKILLEDINTHEARTTOMAKEIT

Inthecontextofinventionsconcerningcomputersoftware,itisimportanttowritea
descriptionthatissufficientlycompletetoenableapersonskilledinthearttomakeit
withoutundueexperimentation.
Thedrawingsofapatentapplicationareveryimportant.AccordingtotheAmerican
practice,allclaimedsubjectmattermustusuallybesupportedbythedrawings.At
leastonedrawingisnecessarytodescribethehardwareoftheinvention.Usually,for
inventionscomprisingcomputersoftware,blockdiagramsareoftenusedtodescribe
thehardware.Preferablyatleastoneblockdiagramshoulddescribetheessential
hardwareelementsandtheirimmediatesurrounding.
Also,atleastoneseconddrawingisnecessarytodescribethemainstepsofthe
methodtoattaintheobjectiveoftheinvention.Thisseconddrawingcanbefor
exampleanalgorithmoraflowchart.
Thepreparationofacompletedescriptionoftheinventionisoftenthesteprequiring
themostworkfromtheinventor.Thecomputerprogramcancomprisethousandsof
linesofcode.Itmustbeunderstoodthatthepatentagentcannotwriteapatent
applicationbasedonalistingofallthecodelines.Itisthusnecessaryforthe
inventortosynthesize,forexample,bymeansofalgorithms,allthestepsofthe
programhefeelsareimportanttoattaintheobjectiveoftheinvention.Thissynthesis
mustbedonewhilemakingsurethatallthestepsdescribedbythealgorithmare
includeddirectlyorindirectlyintheprogram.

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Indescribingthehardwarebymeansofblockdiagrams,itisimportantthataperson
skilledintheartunderstandseveryblockappearinginapatentapplication.Thusif
theinventionresidesinoneoftheblocksofthemaindiagram,thisblockmustbe
furtherdescribedbymeansofatleastanotherblockdiagramuntilapersonskilledin
theartcanunderstandhowtorealizeeveryblockshowninthedrawings.Itisdifficult
tosayinadvancehowmanydrawingswillbenecessarytodescribeaninvention.In
verysimplecases,onediagramcanbesufficienttodescribethehardwareandone
algorithmcanbesufficienttodescribetheoperationmodeoftheapparatus.Inother
cases,fifteendrawingscanbenecessarytodescribethehardwareandasmany
algorithmstodescribetheoperationmodeoftheapparatus.Itiseasilyunderstood
thatthecostofwritingapatentapplicationisdirectlylinkedtothenumberof
drawingsneededtoexplaintheinvention.Themorecomplexaninventionis,the
morecostlytheapplicationwillbetowrite.
Furthermore,incaseswhereitwouldbeimportanttounderstandthetemporalpulses
tocontroltheelementsshowedintheblockdiagrams,theuseoftimingchartsor
chronogramsshouldbeconsidered,tomakeeasiertheunderstandingofdifferent
controlsequencesofthecircuitelements.
Aninventionembodiedinanapparatusisclaimedasacombinationofelements.
However,mostofthetime,manyelementsthatarepartofthecombinationarenot
themselvesnew.Inthiscaseitispreferablethattheseelementsbeclearlyidentified
inthespecificationtoallowapersonskilledinthearttoquicklyunderstandwhatkind
ofelementstheyarewhileavoidingadetaileddescriptionoftheirfunction.

Thedescriptiondetailsrequiredtodescribeaninventionandenableapersonskilled
inthearttomaketheinventiondependsonthegeneralknowledgeofthisperson
skilledintheartatthetimetheapplicationisfiled.Iftheknowledgeoftheperson
skilledintheartisextensiveinthecontextoftheinventionthenthequantityofdetails
necessarytosupporttheclaimscanberelativelysmall.Inversely,iftheinvention
concernsaveryspecificfieldofanewtechnologyandapersonskilledintheart
wouldbeunlikelytobeveryknowledgeableonthesubject,thenthespecification
shouldbeelaborateandcompletetoenablethepersonskilledintheartto
understandandmaketheinvention.
Inotherwords,thereisnoneedtoreinventthewheel.Iftheinventionisinafield
wherecertaintermsarewellknown,orwherecertaincomponentshavenear-
consecratedfunctionsandmeanings,thereisnoneedtoredefinethem.However,
sincetheinventorisalexicographer,ifwordsorconceptsareusedwhendescribing
theinventioninaparticularmannerwhichliesoutsideofthetypicallyaccepted
definition,thenisitfundamentaltohavethe“new”definitioninthespecification.

Inpractice,aquestionoronelikeit,oftenaskedis:“Howmuchofthehardwaremust
bedescribedinthespecificationforaninventionwherethenoveltymostlyresidesin
thesoftware?”.Itisverydifficulttoanswerthissinceitdependsonthegeneral

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knowledgeofthepersonskilledintheart.However,thefollowingaresome
guidelinesfortheinventorinhisapproach:
-havingagoodknowledgeofthestateoftheartinthefieldoftheinvention.
Afterall,itispointlesstodescribeindetailswhatisalreadyknownintheart
andisnotrelatedtothenoveltyoftheinvention.Whatisalreadywellknown
canbesummarizedanditisofcoursepossibletoreferinthespecificationto
otherdocumentsorpatentswhichshowcertainaspectsoftheinventionthat
arealreadyknown;

-havingagooddiscussionwiththepatentagenttoreachamutual
understandingofwhatisthenoveltyoftheinnovation.Thisisnecessaryso
theinventorcanconcentratehiseffortsandenergytodescribethenew
aspectsofhisinventionwhichareusuallythoseimportanttoreachthe
objectivesoftheinvention;

-including,ifnecessary,timechartstoexplainhowtheapparatusworks.
Usually,atleastonetimechartisrequiredwhenthereisablockcalled
“control”intheblockdiagrams,todefinewhatismeantby“control”;and

-includingatleastonedrawingtoshowthehardwareeveniftheinnovation
resideswhollyinthesoftwaretoallowapersonskilledinthearttounderstand
inwhatcontextthesoftwareisused.

Shouldapatentapplicationcompriseanobjectcodelistingorasourcecodelisting?
Objectcodesarethosereadandinterpretedbyamicroprocessorwhilesourcecodes
arethosewrittenbytheprogrammer.Itisbyfarpreferabletousesourcecodes
insteadofobjectcodes,sincethelattercodesareverydifficult,ifnotimpossibleto
bereadandunderstoodbytheExaminerwhilesourcecodescanbeuseful,should
theneedarise,toexplaincertainstepsofthemethodtotheExaminer.

THIRDREQUIREMENT:DESCRIBINGTHEBESTMODECONTEMPLATEDBY
THEINVENTOR

Theinventormustdisclose,tothebestofhisknowledge,thebestmodeforcarrying
outhisinventionatthetimeoffilingoftheapplication.Therearetwoimportant
aspectstothisrequirement.First,thebestmodetobedescribedistheonetocarry
outtheinventionasclaimed,andnotnecessarilytheproductdevelopedforthe
market.Thismeansthattheinventordoesnothavetodiscloseinhispatent
applicationinnovativeaspectsthatarepartofhiscommercialproductbutarenot
directlyrelatedtotheinvention.
Thesecondimportantaspectcanbeverysubjective;theinventormustdescribethe
bestmodeaccordingtohisknowledge.Certaincasescanraiseadilemmaforthe

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inventorwhere,forexample,afirstembodimentoftheinventionispreferableina
firstcontextwhileasecondembodimentoftheinventionispreferableinasecond
context.Whenindoubt,itispreferabletodisclosebothembodiments.Itisalmost
certainthat,iftheinventorforanyreasondeliberatelyleavesoutanaspectofhis
inventionheknowsisimportant,thevalidityoftheresultingpatentmaybeindoubt.

Theinventormustdisclosethebestmodeofmakinghisinventionandmustdescribe
itinacompletemanner.Toinsurethattheinventioniscompletelydisclosedandthat
thebestmodeisdisclosed,acompletelistingofthesoftwarecanbeincludedinthe
specification.Inventorsareoftenreluctanttodothisespeciallyinconsiderationofthe
largequantityofeffortandmoneythatisusuallynecessaryfordevelopingsoftware.
Theydonotwanttofreelygiveawaythefruitsoftheirlabortocompetitors.
Nevertheless,onemustrememberthatapatentisacontractbetweenthe
governmentandtheinventorandthelatteragreestocompletelydisclosehis
inventioninexchangeforexclusiverights.Theinclusionofasoftwarelistinginthe
specificationisasecuritymeasuretopreventarejectionoftheapplicationbasedon
anincompletedisclosureoftheinventionoranondisclosureofthebestmodeof
makingit.
Knowingthis,itisstillpossiblethatmanycodelinesofthesoftwarearenotpartto
theinvention.Thesecodelinesarenotnecessarytocompletelydescribethe
invention.Theycanthusbeomittedfromthelistingtopreventthedisclosureto
competitorsofsoftwarepartsthatcanbekeptsecret.Itisnotcompulsorytoinclude
asoftwarelistingtocompletelydisclosetheinventionespeciallyinacasewherethe
specificationalreadydescribesinacompletemannerallthestepsoftheinvention.
Thisinclusionofthesoftwarelistinginthepatentapplicationismostlyasecurity
measuretoinsurethatincaseswhereimportantelementsoftheinventionare
missing,theapplicantcancountonthesoftwarelistingtoprovidethosemissing
elements.
EXAMPLEOFATYPICALU.S.PATENT

Tobetterunderstandthefundamentalsexplainedabove,thespecificationoftheU.S.
patentno.5,455,506issuedonOctober3rd,1995willbeshownanddiscussed.As
canbeseenonthefirstpageofthispatent,itconcernsamethodandaportable
testingapparatusforsafelytestinganautotransformerforpowerdistributionlines.
Figure1ofthispatentshowshowtheapparatus(6)isconnectedtothe
autotransformer.Figure3isablockdiagramshowingtheelementsoftheapparatus
showninFigure1.Alltheblocksshowninthisfigure3areelementsknowntoa
personskilledintheart,namelyasignalgenerator(16),aprogrammableconnector
switcher(18),asignalamplifier(20),anACtoDCconverter(30),ananalogueto
digitalconverter(32),akeyboard(36),amicrocontroller(38)andadisplayscreen
(40).

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Figure4showsthepanelthatallowstheusertointeractwiththeapparatus.Thelast
drawingshowsFigures2and5.Figure2isaschematicviewoftheautotransformer
andFigure5isanalgorithmshowingtheoperationmodeoftheapparatus.The
noveltyresidesinthesoftwareusedbythemicrocontrollerratherthaninthe
hardware.Thesourcecodewasincludedintheapplication.

Theobjectiveoftheinvention,asmentionedinthesecondcolumnofthepatentisto
proposeamethodandaportabletestingapparatusforsafelytestingan
autotransformerforpowerdistributionlines.Thedrawbackwithmethodsand
apparatusofthepriorartisthatwhenatechnicianhastomakesomemeasurements
onanautotransformer,theterminalsoftheprimaryandsecondarywindingsarenot
alwaysclearlyidentified.Ifahighpowertestingvoltageisappliedonthewrong
terminalsbymistake,thiscouldresultinapoweroverloaddangerousforthe
technician.Theinventorshavethusdevelopedanapparatuswhichmakesaseriesof
preliminarylowvoltageteststhatallowtheapparatustoidentifythevariousterminals
oftheautotransformer.Then,whentheapparatushasidentifiedtheterminalsofthe
autotransformer,itcanapplyinasafemannerhighpowersignalsontheappropriate
terminals.Asaresultthetechniciandoesnothavetobotherwhethertheright
connectionsweremadeontheprimaryandsecondarywindingsbecausethe
apparatuscanidentifytheterminalsoftheautotransformerprimaryandsecondary
windingsandittakescareofapplyingtheappropriatevoltagesontherightterminals.

ReferringnowtoFigure5,thereisshownthatfirstlylowvoltagesignalsareapplied
onattheautotransformerterminalsandmeasurementsaremade.Then,aseriesof
testsaredonetotheresultingvaluestodetermineandshowtothetechnicianwhere
areconnectedtheterminalsoftheapparatus.Thetechniciancanthenstartthehigh
voltagetesting.Ascanbeseen,thishighvoltagetestingisnotdescribedsinceitis
notpartoftheinvention.Theinventionresidesmorepreciselyintheseriesof
preliminarytestsallowingtodeterminewhereareconnectedtheterminalsofthe
apparatus.
Thepatentagentneedsdrawingssimilartothoseshowninthispatenttostartthe
draftingofapatentapplication.Eachdrawingmustbeaccompaniedwitha
descriptiondescribingeveryelementshown.Theinventormustalsodescribethe
drawbacksofthepriorarttobringouttheobjectivesofhisinvention.Hemustin
additiondescribeanormaloperationmodeofhisinventionascompletelyaspossible
byreferringtothedrawings.Ifmorethanoneoperationmodeispossible,eachof
themshouldbedescribed.
CONCLUSION
Ascanitbeseen,alotofworkcanbenecessaryfortheinventortodescribehis
invention.Itmustbeunderstoodthatthepatentagentisnottheinventor,anddoes
nothavehisexpertisetodescribetheinvention.Theprimaryroleofthepatentagent

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istowritetheclaims.Inparticular,hewillstartbythemainclaimwhichdetermines
thescopeofthepatent.
Itisimportanttoseethatthemoretheinventionisdescribedinacompletemanner,
thelesslikelyitistoencounterproblemsintheexaminationprocess,whichresultsin
areductionofthecostinvolved.Indeed,ifapatentapplicationisnotwellwrittenfrom
thestart,theinventorcanlaterbefacedwithaverycostlyprosecutionto
successfullygethispatentdelivered.Itisthusinhisowninteresttotakethetimeto
writeadescriptionthatisascompleteaspossible.

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logicielsetcircuitsintégrés;biotechnologies,pharmaceutiquesetobtentions
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etaudit.ROBIC,agroupoflawyersandofpatentandtrademarkagentsdedicated
since1892totheprotectionandthevalorizationofallfieldsofintellectualproperty:
patents,industrialdesignsandutilitypatents;trademarks,certificationmarksand
indicationsoforigin;copyrightandentertainmentlaw,artistsandperformers,
neighbouringrights;computer,softwareandintegratedcircuits;biotechnologies,
pharmaceuticalsandplantbreeders;tradesecrets,know-how,competitionandanti-
trust;licensing,franchisingandtechnologytransfers;e-commerce,distributionand
businesslaw;marketing,publicityandlabelling;prosecutionlitigationandarbitration;
duediligence.
COPYRIGHTER
IDEASLIVEHERE
ILATOUTDEMÊMEFALLUL’INVENTER!
LAMAÎTRISEDESINTANGIBLES
LEGERROBICRICHARD
NOSFENÊTRESGRANDESOUVERTESSURLEMONDEDESAFFAIRES
PATENTER
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ROBIC

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ROBIC+DROIT+AFFAIRES+SCIENCES+ARTS
ROBIC++++
ROBIC+LAW+BUSINESS+SCIENCE+ART
THETRADEMARKERGROUP
TRADEMARKER
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PLANÈTE
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IDEASTOTHEWORLD
Trade-marksofLEGERROBICRICHARD,
LLP(“ROBIC”)