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Patent Claim Chart

Claim chart software that splits each asserted claim into elements, quotes the evidence for each one from its manual page or teardown photo, and names the weakest link before the defense does.

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The problem

The row that loses the case is usually found by the other side's expert

A chart is built one element at a time. An associate and a technical advisor read manual after manual for the passage that shows each limitation, paste it into a cell and type the pin cite. Each accused product needs its own chart, so the hours stack up before anyone has judged a row.

Then the evidence moves. Marketing pages change between captures, a quote drifts from its page, and a vague line in a user guide stands in for what only a teardown can prove. Nobody ranks the rows, so the thin one surfaces in the expert report or at claim construction, after positions are fixed and the contentions are served.

Built forPatent litigatorsPatent attorneysTechnical advisorsLitigation associates

The Problem Today

Each claim element needs its evidence quoted, and the defense goes straight for the weakest row.

10–30
hours of attorney time to build one claim chart by hand published
10 days
before the first case conference, the charts are due published

Read and pasted today

  • Manuals
  • Teardowns
  • Web pages
  • Prior art
  • Hundreds of pages a rowOne passage per element, hunted through manual files
  • Weak rows found lateIn the defense's expert report, after positions are fixed

The Solution

  1. Claims split into elementsEach claim split at each limitation, with terms a court may construe
  2. Each cell quoted and citedThe exact passage from a manual, teardown photo or web page
  3. The weakest link namedThe row the defense will attack, and the best evidence on file to fix it
  4. Partner rates and signsEach row's strength set by a named partner, then contentions signed

Built-in controls

  • Only a partner sets a row's final strength
  • Protective-order tiers enforced on each read
  • Client and opponent files never become training material

What You Get

The partner signs charts that were stress-tested first, with each weak row decided and its reason on file.

3 hours
of review per chart, after the agents' overnight draft our estimate
  • Assert or defend, one readingEvidence-of-use and invalidity charts on the same elements
  • Contentions with days to spareDrafted from the signed charts, well before the deadline
  • Quotes that match the sourceEach cell opens the page or photo it came from
Claim to contentions

How claim chart software builds a chart and finds its weakest link

Claims first, then evidence, cells, the weakest link, the art and the signature.

  1. 01Claims and constructions

    Claims split at each limitation, with the terms a court may construe

    How it works

    • All 21 claims split into 58 elements, preambles kept and dependents carrying their parent down
    • Five terms a court may construe, each with the specification passage behind it
    • Our proposed meaning sits beside the defense's likely reading of each term
    • Disposed in the housing is flagged high risk, because it decides 1[c]

    Senior associateStarts construction work knowing which term the case turns on before a single chart is drafted.

  2. 02Accused products and evidence

    Product evidence read overnight, inside the reader's protective-order tier

    How it works

    • 486 manual pages, 2 teardown reports and 14 marketing pages across 3 accused products
    • Each read checked against the tier of the person running it
    • 174 cells filled with exact quotes, each with a page, photo or capture date
    • A heat map of 21 claims by 3 products, shaded by each chart's weakest row

    Technical advisorEnds the hunt through hundreds of user-guide pages for one passage per element, and keeps attorneys'-eyes-only material away from anyone outside that tier.

  3. 03Element by evidence

    Each cell quoted from its page or photo, with a strength the partner sets

    How it works

    • Each element in the claim's own words, beside the passage that shows it
    • The quoted words highlighted at the source: a manual page, a teardown photo or a marketing line
    • Four strengths per row, none to strong, with the agent's suggestion shown as a dot
    • Support runs from 41 on the housing sensor to 95 on the temperature sensor

    Patent litigation partnerReads each row against its source instead of proofreading quotes that drifted, and keeps the partner's rating on file beside the agent's.

  4. 04The weakest link

    The claim drawn as a chain, with its weakest link named before the defense

    How it works

    • One link per element, each as thick as its support score
    • Element 1[c], the sensor in the housing, is the weakest link at 41
    • The likely attack is written out: the sensing happens in the remote room sensors
    • The best evidence on file is offered, a teardown photo that takes support to 88

    Patent litigation partnerLearns which row the opposing expert will go after first, as soon as the charts are drafted, with the fix on file.

  5. 05Evidence reader

    The source opened beside its quote, with the cited part boxed on a photo

    How it works

    • Manuals, teardown photos and captured web pages open in one reader
    • The quoted passage is highlighted, and on a photo the component is boxed
    • A side list shows each cell that cites the source, and each it is offered to
    • Each teardown photo shows who verified it, and when

    Technical advisorChecks what the board shows against what the user guide only implies, before a quote goes into a chart the firm will serve.

  6. 06Weakest elements, defense view

    A defense view that argues the other side of each weak element

    How it works

    • 2 weak rows of 174 after the overnight run, then the next weakest under 80
    • The other side's likely argument sits beside our answer
    • Evidence that would shore it up, ranked by the support it gives: 88, 72 and 63
    • Three choices: shore it up, rely on a dependent claim, or accept with a reason

    Patent litigation partnerTests each weak row against the argument opposing counsel will make, before the contentions are due, when better evidence or another claim can still fix it.

  7. 07Decision on a weak element

    A weak element closed only by a partner's decision and its written reason

    How it works

    • No decision is recorded until a reason is typed
    • Shoring up attaches photo 9 from the teardown and moves support from 41 to 88
    • The row turns strong, and the chart reads 147 strong, 26 moderate, 1 weak
    • The decision lands in the log with the partner's name and reason

    Patent litigation partnerLeaves a record of why each weak row was kept, fixed or dropped, so the file already holds the answer when the expert report lands.

  8. 08Invalidity chart

    An invalidity chart that reads each element against every prior art reference

    How it works

    • Each element read against References A, B and C: disclosed, partly or not
    • Each finding cites its paragraph, section or page
    • 1[f], the forecast-based preheat, appears in no reference
    • The closest combination, A with B, still lacks it

    Senior associateKnows where the patent is exposed before invalidity contentions arrive, and that the element holding validity is the one the lower-cost model is weakest on.

  9. 09Infringement contentions

    Contentions drafted from the signed charts, each statement tied to a cell

    How it works

    • Sections (a) to (f) drafted from Exhibits A-1 to A-3, each statement tied to a cell
    • Equivalents pleaded only where the partner decided
    • A check before signing: the shored row, the decision on file, 174 of 174 cells cited
    • Agents never serve; the partner signs with 19 days to run and marks it ready

    Patent litigation partnerSigns contentions that chart specifically where each element is found, with days to spare; a vague chart a court could strike never goes out.

Three accused products, 486 manual pages, and one weak row left after review

The evidence behind each chart, and where the two contested elements stood after review.

Evidence and supportFlagship thermostatLower-cost modelKit with room sensors
Manual pages read212148126
Teardown photos96None on file58
Marketing pages captured545
Sensor in the housing, 1[c]41, then 88 with the photo6686
Forecast-based preheat, 1[f]8938, capture requested87
ExhibitA-1A-2A-3
Around the charts

The rest of the case file: the other products, the art turned around, the log

What the partner, the advisor and the associate open around the three charts.

The row, turned strongWith the photo attached, 1[c] reads 88 and the chain names its next weakest link: the seven-day schedule at 72, with a user-guide page offered.
The lower-cost model's gapOn the lower-cost model the forecast element sits at 38, backed by one marketing line. No stronger evidence is on file, so the chart opens the decision.
A decision with nothing to attachNothing in 148 manual pages or 4 marketing pages reads on 1[f]. The decision on file asks for a network capture, with method claim 12 as the fallback.
A system claim with no weak linkClaim 18 against the kit with remote room sensors: eight elements, all strong, lowest support 84. The chain is re-checked when new evidence lands.
The same chart, turned aroundCharted as the defense would chart it, the forecast element is the gap the other side must fill with a fourth reference.
Who charted and ratedEach read, attachment, rating and signature, by agent or person, with its reason. Kept seven years after final judgment.

A partner rates each row, and the technical advisor stands behind the photos

Agents fill and score the chart; people decide each row's strength and what gets served.

Patent litigation partner
Sees
The chain, the weakest link and the defense's likely attack on it
Signs
Sets each row's final strength, decides each weak element, signs the charts and contentions
Technical advisor
Sees
Teardown photos and the technical cells that rest on them
Signs
Commissions teardowns and verifies technical evidence; cannot sign
Senior associate
Sees
The claims, the terms in dispute and the contentions draft
Signs
Drafts the contentions and proposes ratings; cannot sign
Litigation support manager
Sees
Settings, access and the protective-order tiers
Signs
Sets who may read each tier; makes no case decisions
Client general counsel
Sees
Which charts hold up, product by product
Signs
Decides which products are worth asserting
What the agents may touch

Splitting, quoting and scoring go to agents; rating a row never does

Their work lands in a cell, a score or a draft. The ratings and the signature stay with people.

Claim splitter

Splits each claim into elements at each limitation and lists the terms a court may construe, with the specification passage behind each.

  • Never treats a proposed construction as settled
Evidence finder

Reads manuals, teardown reports, marketing pages and code excerpts for each product and finds the passage for each element.

  • Never reads above the tier of the person running it
Cell writer

Fills each cell with the quoted passage, its page or photo, and the capture date.

  • Never puts its own words between quotation marks
Weak-link finder

Scores each element's support, names the weakest link, predicts the defense's attack and ranks the evidence that would shore it up.

  • Never sets the final rating
Art reader

Reads prior art against the same elements for the invalidity chart, citing the passage behind each finding.

  • Never concludes that a claim is invalid
Contentions drafter

Drafts the contentions from the signed charts, each statement tied to a cell or a decision.

  • Never serves anything
  • Pleads equivalents only where the partner decided

Claim chart software, as litigation teams question it

What is claim chart software?

Claim chart software puts each element of an asserted claim beside the evidence that a product, or a prior art reference, has it. This solution splits the claims, quotes each cell from its page or photo, names the weakest link, and leaves each rating and signature to the partner.

Which row does it name as the weakest link, and why?

It scores each element's support from the evidence on file and names the lowest link with the defense's likely attack, then ranks the evidence that would shore it up. The partner decides, and the reason goes on file.

Can it build an invalidity chart as well?

Yes. The art reader reads each prior art reference against the same elements and marks each disclosed, partly or not, with its passage. It draws no conclusion on validity.

Does it draft infringement contentions?

The contentions drafter writes them from the signed charts, ties each statement to a cell, and pleads equivalents only where the partner decided. Agents serve nothing: the partner signs, and the firm serves.

How are protective-order tiers handled?

Each document is tiered before any agent reads it: confidential, attorneys' eyes only, or source code. Agents read only within the tier of the person running them, and the log records every document they open.

Can it build an evidence of use chart for a licensing campaign?

Yes. The firm's settings hold chart templates for local patent rules, inter partes review petitions and licensing evidence-of-use, each with the firm's own strength scale and support thresholds.

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Find the row that loses the case
before their expert does.

Pick a patent your group has already charted, and set its weakest row beside the one the agents name.

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