Reads the claims as written and draws the dependency tree, marking forward and cross-kind references.
- Never renumbers or reorders claims
Check by check
How patent proofreading software reads one draft, check by check
From the first agent pass to the attorney’s signature, each check says who may act on what it finds.
- 01Agents proofing the draft
Agents read the claims, description and drawings in one pass
How it works
- The desk strip shows each application in the queue, its claim count, filing date and status
- 26 claims, 58 paragraphs and 4 drawing sheets read in one pass
- 7 antecedent issues, 24 numerals with 5 mismatches, 48 claim terms looked up
- Proof again re-runs each check and keeps each decision already made
Senior patent paralegalKnows which of the six drafts on the desk to open first, and where its errors sit, before turning a page of the printout.
- 02Claim tree, claim 14
A claim tree drawn as written, with borrowed terms as broken links
How it works
- Each claim drawn under the claim it depends on, exactly as the draft words it
- Each definite term checked against its own claim and its parents only
- A dashed line runs from claim 14 to claim 9, the only place the controller is introduced
- Accepting a controller clears the node and the line
Senior patent paralegalGets the wrong-branch errors she could only find by sketching the tree on a pad, each with its claim, its branch and the reason.
- 03Dependency, claim 19
A dependency check that proposes the likely parent for the attorney
How it works
- Flags a claim that depends on a later claim, on itself or on another kind of claim
- Proposes the likely parent from the terms the claim uses: claim 17 for claim 19, now under the later claim 21
- Claim 25, a medium claim, hangs off method claim 18 and moves to claim 23
- A dependency fix changes scope, so the paralegal can only send it on
Patent attorneySees each broken dependency with its likely parent and the term that points to it, and settles it before an examiner objects.
- 04Numeral check
Reference numerals matched both ways, text to drawings and back
How it works
- All 24 numerals matched, each row with the element named, its paragraphs and its figures
- The mismatched filter shows 7 rows behind 5 mismatches
- Numeral 130 names both the expansion valve and the bypass valve
- The bypass valve becomes 134, the numeral FIG. 1 already gives it
Patent agentSees exactly which numeral was reused or mistyped, and in which paragraph, while the fix is still one word in the text.
- 05Drawing sheet 2
Each drawing sheet, with the callouts the text never names circled
How it works
- Each drawing sheet shown with its callouts as the drafter drew them
- A circled callout has no match in the text: FIG. 2 labels the fan 116, the text calls it 118
- Clicking a callout opens the paragraphs that name it
- Accepted drawing fixes go to the drafter as corrections on the sheet
Senior patent paralegalStops ticking numerals against four printed sheets, and sends the drafter a marked correction in place of an email describing it.
- 06All issues by type
One issue list: each fix, its source and who may decide it
How it works
- Each of the 15 issues and 2 warnings shows the words as written, the proposed fix and its source line
- Antecedent and numeral fixes are clerical, so the paralegal may accept them
- She ticks the clerical fixes she has read and accepts them together
- Scope fixes go to the attorney in one step
Senior patent paralegalClears twelve clerical fixes in one sitting and sends on only the five decisions that need a lawyer.
- 07Claim term support
Support for each claim term, cited to its paragraph
How it works
- All 48 claim terms looked up: 41 verbatim, 6 in close wording, 1 with none
- Each match cited to its paragraph
- Claim 13’s hydrophobic coating has none; the closest is a frost-resistant coating, in paragraph 0042
- The attorney amends the claim, or asks the inventor before adding support
Patent attorneyChooses between amending claim 13 to the description’s own words and adding support, with the cited paragraph on screen.
- 08Fixes and markup
A marked-up Word file carrying only the accepted fixes
How it works
- Each fix listed with who decided it, when and why
- Only accepted fixes are applied, here as 14 tracked changes
- Rejected and undecided fixes stay out of the document
- The 2 drawing corrections go to the drafter on their own
Patent agentOpens one file showing each change against the draft they wrote, with the claim and the decision behind it.
- 09Ready to file
A ready-to-file check the attorney signs, traced to each decision
How it works
- Nine checks: every issue decided, no broken links, numerals matched, each term supported
- Claim count and fees, an abstract of 142 words, the title and the sheets
- The attorney signs once the first 8 pass; the agents file nothing
- 38 minutes of people’s time, against about 4 hours for the same proof on paper
Patent attorneySigns a check that traces item by item to the decisions behind it, on the day the draft reaches the desk.