The Secrets to Avoiding Strong Drawings & Weak Patent (ePub)

PATENT DRAWING LABELLING Now that you have had your patent drawings completed by the patent illustrator, the next step is to label your drawing. 'Label the drawing? What is that?' I get this from inventors all the time. In this chapter we will discuss what is the purpose of adding reference lines and numbers on a drawing, and how a well labeled drawing can help you write a good provisional patent specification. We will also show you how to label your drawing yourself. Why Label Your Drawing? Labelling the drawing is one of the most important part of preparing your patent application. Many inventors do not know why the drawings are labelled. When you send your invention document to the patent office, you will not be there to explain the details of your invention, you will not be able to pull your invention apart and explain how things will work. The drawing, the reference numbers and your written explanation will do the explaining for you. Therefore, what you explain is very important. Think about it like this: Provisional and Non-Provisional Patent drawings are created to be explained. The explanation of the invention is in the drawing. The drawings can only be explained properly by use of reference numbers and lines. The reference numbers are names of parts of the invention and the reference lines can be compared to your finger pointing to the parts you are explaining. If the drawing is not properly labelled it cannot be explained properly. If the drawing is not explained properly the strength of the invention will be weak. After a drawing is filed, you cannot come back to explain something new or something you forgot to mention. How to make sure your drawing is properly labeled? Adding Lines and Numbers To Your Patent Drawing Deciding what parts to label on a completed drawing, and what reference numbers to use is usually the responsibility of whoever is writing the patent specification or explanation.