Getting Ready Or Planning Drawings for a Utility Patent Application

A utility patent is a patent that includes any new, original, and valuable process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and beneficial improvement thereof.

The drawings (also called figures) give a visual depiction of the innovation and may incorporate flow charts or diagrams. The specification typically includes the field of the innovation, a background of the innovation, a summary of the innovation, a brief description of the drawings, and a description of the innovation. Finally, the claims characterize the subject matter (or “metes and bounds”) of the innovation.

The drawings for a utility patent application are one of the most significant parts of the patent application. The drawings are a quick, simple approach to set up some comprehension of what to expect if one were to spend time reading the utility patent or application. Patent rules additionally require the drawings to show what is being claimed as the innovation. Also, without the patent drawings, the content of the patent document cannot be placed into context, and its full significance might be harder to comprehend. Subsequently, the significance of the drawings cannot be underestimated; they are vital to understanding the utility patent.

Remember the End Goal in Mind while Preparing Drawings for a Utility Patent Application

To start preparation of the drawings for a utility patent application, remember the ultimate objective of the patent document, which is to show or illustrate what is being claimed. What is being claimed will correlate to the point of novelty of the innovation. To show the point of novelty, you should tell a story through the patent drawings about how to make and utilize the innovation.

1. Point of Novelty

The point of novelty is the point at which your innovation leaves from existing technology. The point of novelty should explain how functionally your innovation works differently or has an additional advantage contrasted to existing technology. How does your innovation depart from existing technology in terms of how it is made and/or utilized? To catch the point of novelty through the drawings for a utility patent application may be hard to do, but it is part of the purpose of the drawings.

2. Tell a Story

The drawings of the utility patent application should tell a story to reveal the point of novelty effectively. The story might be a succession of events. If the innovation is a series of steps, the drawings may show the various steps pictorially or in a flow chart.

Patent Rules

Rule 1.83 (37 C.F.R. 1.83) states, “The drawings in a nonprovisional application must (emphasis added) display every feature of the innovation specified in the claims.” Since the drawings for a utility patent application should show what is being claimed, it is critical to have what you are attempting to claim as your innovation as a primary concern while preparing the drawings. Oftentimes, a good suggestion is to write at least one or two claims that will assist you with clarifying what the innovation is or make the innovation more concrete in your mind.

Patent Guidance

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) provides a Guide to Preparing the Patent Drawings. This is a broad clarification of the formatting rules for getting ready drawings for a utility patent application. For instance, the Guide covers subjects such as the necessities for line drawings, reference numbers, kinds of perspectives, margins, text sizes, etc.

Hire a Patent Attorney, Patent Illustrator / Drafter, or Do It Yourself

Most likely, a patent attorney won’t consent to do only part of the preparation of a patent application; the attorney will set up the whole application including the drawings, the technical specification, & the claims, or won’t accept your case. The explanation is that the drawings, the technical specification, and the claims work together to describe how to make and utilize the innovation and characterize it overall. Without controlling all parts of the patent application, numerous great patent attorneys would not have any desire to be related with or manage the issues that come up.

A patent drafter can be utilized. Notwithstanding, a patent drafter is useful for keeping the rules listed in the Patent Guidance section however not for distinguishing the point of novelty and sorting out the perspectives to describe the story of your point of novelty.

If you have views in mind that you need to show, they will be useful for designing those drawings since they know about the USPTO’s Patent Guidance. Patent drafters can put the drawings in the correct format. In any case, they generally do not assist you with distinguishing the point of novelty or tell the story to illustrate that point of novelty.

You can do the whole project yourself, including utilizing a computer drafting program to create the drawings.