Patent Application and its Contents :

A patent application memorializes the agreement between the inventor and the government office that results in the issuance of a patent. Accordingly, a patent application is in many ways like a contract. Writing a high-quality patent application is important because it sets out in a clear fashion the terms by which the patent owner and others will be bound. In this sense, drafting a patent application is different from writing a scientific paper. As the patent document contains technical subject matter, it will also bear some similarities to a scientific or technical paper, although it does not usually need to rise to the level of a blueprint for making invention protected by the patent. The issued patent will be reviewed over the years by public officials such as patent examiners and judges and business partners. Thus, the patent application should be drafted with these important audiences in mind.

The parts of the patent application typically include the Background, Summary, Detailed Description and Drawings, Claims and Abstract. In reading a patent application:

• the Background section sets the stage for what is to come;
• the Summary section mirrors the claims;
• the Detailed Description and Drawings enable the claims by providing a sufficient technical disclosure of the invention;
• the Claims define the scope of exclusive protection; and
• the Abstract is primarily an aid for patent searchers and normally receives very little substantive review.

The drafting of patent application must be made in full and strict compliance with the patent law of the concerned jurisdiction. For filing applications in India, it is the Patents Act of 1970 and the Patent Rules of 1972 as amended from time to time.