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Meaningful Patent Protection
Meaningful patent protection means a patent that provides substantial
protection:
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Extent of patent protection identified in the claims.
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The claims are
found at the end of
the patent.
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The claims recite strings of elements.
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The claims cover items that have each recited element.
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Broad patent claims have few elements.
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Broad patent claims have no unessential elements.
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Broad patent claims provide meaningful patent
protection.
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Narrow patent claims have lots of elements.
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Narrow patent claims have lots of unessential elements.
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Narrow patent claims provide no meaningful patent
protection.
Warning - a dependent claim (one
that refers to a preceding claim) includes all elements recited in the
referenced claim or claims.
Example - patent claim recites "a
chair having four legs supporting a seating platform".
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The claim covers all four-legged chairs even if they
have other features such as a back rest and arm rests, because they have all
recited elements.
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The claim does not cover a three-legged stool,
because it does not have four legs.
Example - patent claim recites "a
chair having at least three legs supporting a seating platform and a back rest".
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The claim covers all four-legged chairs with back
rests, regardless of their extra features.
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The claim does not cover four-legged chairs without
back rests.
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The claim covers a three-legged stool only if the
stool has a back rest.
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The claim does not cover a single-leg (pedestal)
stool even if it has a back rest because it does not have at least three legs.
Warning - if a claim recites an
unnecessary element, competitors can
avoid infringement merely by omitting that
unnecessary element from their product.
other topics -
patent infringement,
patent
applications,
patent ready, or
patent it or not
more topics -
patent examination process,
patent term,
patent myths,
patent marking
questions, inquiries
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contact the firm
(all modes)
or call 312.419.8055
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