Claim (patent) - Definition and Overview

Patent claims define the extent of the protection conferred by a patent, in technical terms. They are of the utmost importance both in examination proceedings and in litigation, for instance during infringement actions. There are usually in the form of a series of numbered expressions following the description of the invention.

There are two basic types of claims:

• the independent claims, which stand on their own, and
• the dependent claims, which depend on a single claim or on several claims (provided that they are in the same category - see below).

Claims can also be classified in categories, i.e. in terms of what they claim. A claim can refer to

• a physical entity, i.e. a product or an apparatus (or device, system, ...); or
• an activity, i.e. a process (or method) or a use.

History

Patent have not always contained claims. In many European countries, patents did not contain claims before the 1970s. It was then often difficult (and subjective) to decide whether or not a product infringed a patent, since the sole basis to know the extent of protection was the description, in view of the prior art.

Requirements

Under the European Patent Convention, a claim must define the matter for which the protection is sought in terms of technical features. These technical features can be either structural (e.g. a nail, a rivet) or functional (e.g. fastening means).

Special types of claims

• Beauregard claims
• Dependent claim (see above)
• Independent claim (see above)
• Jepson claims
• Markush claims
• Means-plus-function claims
• Product-by-process claims
• Reach-through claims
• Swiss-type claims

See also

• Disclaimer
• Doctrine of equivalents

External links

• European Patent Convention
  • Article 69 (http://www.european-patent-office.org/legal/epc/e/ar69.html) defining the extent of protection
  • Article 84 (http://www.european-patent-office.org/legal/epc/e/ar84.html) defining the role of claims
  • Rule 29 (http://www.european-patent-office.org/legal/epc/e/r29.html#R29) expressing the legal requirements regarding the form and content of the claims
• US Patent law