Detent notch 142 appeared in FIG. 6 but in no paragraph. The support checker flagged it, and the fix that added it to ¶[0058] was approved by the associate.
Disclosure to first draft
How the patent drafting software builds one catheter application
From the cited element list to the filing check, each feature in the sequence drafting follows: what it does, and whose problem it solves.
- 01Elements of the invention
Invention elements, each cited to a disclosure page or interview minute
How it works
- Reads the disclosure, interview notes, drawings, search report and style guide as five inputs
- Lists elements E1 to E12, each linked to its page or interview minute
- Shows which inventor contributed each element, for the attorney’s inventorship call
- Marks which claim each element lands in once the claims are drafted
AssociateBegins from a cited list of what the inventors built; nobody rereads eleven pages and an hour of notes to find it.
- 02Question to the inventor
Questions for the inventor, drafted where the disclosure goes silent
How it works
- The specification writer drafts a question wherever the disclosure leaves a gap
- An associate or the attorney approves each question before it goes out
- Sent through the client’s private matter link
- Each answer is cited in the draft; this one will be Q5
AssociatePuts each gap in front of the inventor once, in his own terms, so the description holds only what he actually built.
- 03Claim widths compared
The first claim drafted broad, medium and narrow against the closest art
How it works
- Each width written out in full, its elements lettered for the comparison
- Each element marked against references D1, D2 and D3, the passage one click away
- Broad reads on D1, which shows 4 of 4 elements
- Medium leaves D2 at 4 of 5: no reference shows a spiral track driving two wires
Patent attorneyChooses the claim’s reach with the closest art laid out element by element, rather than by feel before the search is mapped.
- 04Width picked
The signing attorney picks the width, and the reason goes on record
How it works
- Only a registered patent attorney may pick a width
- A reason is chosen from a short list and recorded with the pick
- Claims 1, 9 and 15 take the width, and the 17 dependents follow them
- Agents draft all three widths; the choice stays with the attorney
Patent attorneyKeeps the one strategic call in the application with the person who signs it, and leaves a reason a reviewer can read later.
- 05Drafting studio
A claim tree drafted to the chosen width, beside its specification
How it works
- 20 claims: three independent, the catheter, the handle assembly and the method, with 17 dependents beneath
- Clicking a claim lights its terms; clicking a term opens its paragraph
- The meter counts 46 of 46 terms described and 31 of 31 numerals used
- Antecedent basis reads 20 of 20 claims
Patent attorneySees the claim family and the paragraph behind each term on one screen, so review time goes into the claims instead of proving the description mentions them.
- 06Specification
A specification written section by section to the firm’s style guide
How it works
- 38 pages in seven sections and 112 numbered paragraphs, each section with its page count
- Claim terms highlighted in the paragraphs that describe them
- Style checks shown beside it: comprising preambles, no means-for language, one name per part
- The abstract runs 138 of 150 words; one section can be redrafted alone
AssociateStarts from a description already in the house style and edits it section by section; the detailed description never begins as a blank page.
- 07Figures and numerals
Reference numerals checked both ways, between the drawings and the text
How it works
- A grid of 31 numerals against nine figures, with the paragraphs that use each one
- Pointing at a numeral lights it in the drawing: here spiral track 126 in FIG. 3
- Numerals run in hundreds, one per part
- The grid reads 31 of 31 used both ways
Patent agentCatches a numeral that sits in a drawing but never in the text before it comes back as a drawing objection.
- 08Closest art per claim
Every claim mapped to its closest reference, element by element
How it works
- For all 20 claims, a bar per reference shows how many elements it holds
- D2 is closest for most claims, and D3 for claims 10, 11 and 13
- No reference shows any claim in full
- The 14 references of the search report sit beside the grid, all on the information disclosure statement (IDS)
Patent attorneyKnows where each fallback stands against the closest art before the first office action, without building a separate claim chart.
- 09Filing check
Claim fees, abstract length and the IDS counted before anyone files
How it works
- 20 of 20 claims and 3 of 3 independent: excess claim fees of $0
- A 138-word abstract, and 14 references with no size fee
- Inventor review and two declarations tracked as the open items
- Approval waits on two statements the attorney confirms
IP paralegalAssembles the package against counts already checked, and sees what a 21st claim would cost before an associate adds one.