Difference between revisions of "How to read patents"
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When '''reading patents''', the most important part of a patent are the "claims". These are the ideas that are covered by the patent. It's a common mistake think of the abstract as a summary - it is ''not'' a summary. The abstract just describes the domain in which the claims are situated. | When '''reading patents''', the most important part of a patent are the "claims". These are the ideas that are covered by the patent. It's a common mistake think of the abstract as a summary - it is ''not'' a summary. The abstract just describes the domain in which the claims are situated. | ||
| − | == | + | ==Target the claims, not the summary!== |
The claims are not easy to find, look for a numbered list, introduced usually by either: | The claims are not easy to find, look for a numbered list, introduced usually by either: | ||
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{{help|We need references to confirm (or correct) this explanation.}} | {{help|We need references to confirm (or correct) this explanation.}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===Example: US6,125,447=== | ||
| + | |||
| + | Take [[USA|US]] patent 6,125,447. Like all patents, it has a name, an abstract, and claims. The claims are what you need to find prior art for. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The name is "Protection domains to provide security in a computer system". | ||
| + | |||
| + | The abstract is: | ||
| + | |||
| + | <blockquote> | ||
| + | A method and apparatus are provided for maintaining and enforcing security rules using protection domains. As new code arrives at a computer, a determination is assigned to a protection domain based on the source from which the code is received. The protection domain establishes the permissions that apply to the code. In embodiments where the code to be executed by the computer belongs to object classes, an association is established between the protection domains and the classes of objects. When an object requests an action, a determination is made as to whether the action is permitted based on the class to which the object belongs and the association between classes and protection domains. | ||
| + | </blockquote> | ||
| + | |||
| + | And here's the only important part, the claims. There are twenty-four claims, but we'll only print the first eight claims here. You can see that claims 1 and 7 are independent claims (important), and the rest are dependent claims (usually much less important). | ||
| + | |||
| + | <blockquote> | ||
| + | What is claimed is:<br /> | ||
| + | <br /> | ||
| + | 1. A method for providing security, the method comprising the steps of:<br /> | ||
| + | <br /> | ||
| + | establishing one or more protection domains, wherein a protection domain is associated with zero or more permissions;<br /> | ||
| + | <br /> | ||
| + | establishing an association between said one or more protection domains and one or more classes of one or more objects; and<br /> | ||
| + | <br /> | ||
| + | determining whether an action requested by a particular object is permitted based on said association between said one or more protection domains and said one or more classes.<br /> | ||
| + | <br /> | ||
| + | 2. The method of claim 1, wherein:<br /> | ||
| + | <br /> | ||
| + | at least one protection domain of said one or more protection domains is associated with a code identifier;<br /> | ||
| + | <br /> | ||
| + | at least one class of said one or more classes is associated with said code identifier; and<br /> | ||
| + | <br /> | ||
| + | the step of establishing an association between said one or more protection domains and said one or more classes of one or more objects further includes the step of associating said one or more protection domains and said one or more classes based on said code identifier.<br /> | ||
| + | <br /> | ||
| + | 3. The method of claim 2, wherein said code identifier indicates a source of code used to define each class of said one or more classes.<br /> | ||
| + | <br /> | ||
| + | 4. The method of claim 2, wherein said code identifier indicates a key associated with each class of said one or more classes.<br /> | ||
| + | <br /> | ||
| + | 5. The method of claim 2, wherein said code identifier indicates a source of code used to define each class of said one or more classes and indicates a key associated with each class of said one or more classes.<br /> | ||
| + | <br /> | ||
| + | 6. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of associating said one or more protection domains and said one or more classes based on said code identifier further includes associating said one or more protection domains and said one or more classes based on data persistently stored, wherein said data associates code identifiers with a set of one or more permissions.<br /> | ||
| + | <br /> | ||
| + | 7. A method of providing security, the method comprising the steps of:<br /> | ||
| + | <br /> | ||
| + | establishing one or more protection domains, wherein a protection domain is associated with zero or more permissions;<br /> | ||
| + | <br /> | ||
| + | establishing an association between said one or more protection domains and one or more sources of code; and<br /> | ||
| + | <br /> | ||
| + | in response to executing code making a request to perform an action, determining whether said request is permitted based on a source of said code making said request and said association between said one or more protection domains and said one or more sources of code.<br /> | ||
| + | <br /> | ||
| + | 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of establishing an association between said one or more protection domains and said one or more sources of code further includes establishing an association between said one or more protection domains and said one or more sources of code and one or more keys associated with said one or more sources of code. | ||
| + | </blockquote> | ||
==How to spot "software" claims== | ==How to spot "software" claims== | ||
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* ''A method for...'' (at least in the [[USA]]) | * ''A method for...'' (at least in the [[USA]]) | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Files are not just bits== | ||
| + | |||
| + | To be a good technician / computer scientist, you have to be able to see past the purpose of files. A video is no more special than an image or a song. They're all just files of bits. But, in law, the purpose ''is'' important. | ||
==Related pages on {{SITENAME}}== | ==Related pages on {{SITENAME}}== | ||
* [[Reading case law]] | * [[Reading case law]] | ||
* [[Searching for patents]] | * [[Searching for patents]] | ||
| − | * [[State of the art]] - | + | * [[State of the art]] - what is "prior art"? |
* [[Design patents]] - which are ''not'' the same as normal patents | * [[Design patents]] - which are ''not'' the same as normal patents | ||
* [[Software patents are unreadable]] | * [[Software patents are unreadable]] | ||
* [[Patent governance]] | * [[Patent governance]] | ||
* [[What to do if worried by a software patent]] | * [[What to do if worried by a software patent]] | ||
| − | |||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
Revision as of 13:18, 14 August 2010
When reading patents, the most important part of a patent are the "claims". These are the ideas that are covered by the patent. It's a common mistake think of the abstract as a summary - it is not a summary. The abstract just describes the domain in which the claims are situated.
Contents
Target the claims, not the summary!
The claims are not easy to find, look for a numbered list, introduced usually by either:
- What we claim is
- What is claimed is
Independent and dependent claims
There might be ten or a hundred claims. Most of these will be "dependent" claims which claim something in addition to a previous claim. For example:
- A box that makes noises;
- A box as claimed in claim 1, wherein said noises resemble a monster
- A box as claimed in claim 2, wherein said monster noises are scary
- A box as claimed in claim 1, wherein a toy monster sits
Here, claims 2, 3, and 4 are dependent claims. Claim #1 is an "independent" claim. This is important because if the independent claims don't cover software ideas, then the dependent claims can't cover software ideas. So, to determine if a patent is a software patent or not, you only have to read the independent claims.
Can you help? We need references to confirm (or correct) this explanation.
Example: US6,125,447
Take US patent 6,125,447. Like all patents, it has a name, an abstract, and claims. The claims are what you need to find prior art for.
The name is "Protection domains to provide security in a computer system".
The abstract is:
A method and apparatus are provided for maintaining and enforcing security rules using protection domains. As new code arrives at a computer, a determination is assigned to a protection domain based on the source from which the code is received. The protection domain establishes the permissions that apply to the code. In embodiments where the code to be executed by the computer belongs to object classes, an association is established between the protection domains and the classes of objects. When an object requests an action, a determination is made as to whether the action is permitted based on the class to which the object belongs and the association between classes and protection domains.
And here's the only important part, the claims. There are twenty-four claims, but we'll only print the first eight claims here. You can see that claims 1 and 7 are independent claims (important), and the rest are dependent claims (usually much less important).
What is claimed is:
1. A method for providing security, the method comprising the steps of:
establishing one or more protection domains, wherein a protection domain is associated with zero or more permissions;
establishing an association between said one or more protection domains and one or more classes of one or more objects; and
determining whether an action requested by a particular object is permitted based on said association between said one or more protection domains and said one or more classes.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein:
at least one protection domain of said one or more protection domains is associated with a code identifier;
at least one class of said one or more classes is associated with said code identifier; and
the step of establishing an association between said one or more protection domains and said one or more classes of one or more objects further includes the step of associating said one or more protection domains and said one or more classes based on said code identifier.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein said code identifier indicates a source of code used to define each class of said one or more classes.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein said code identifier indicates a key associated with each class of said one or more classes.
5. The method of claim 2, wherein said code identifier indicates a source of code used to define each class of said one or more classes and indicates a key associated with each class of said one or more classes.
6. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of associating said one or more protection domains and said one or more classes based on said code identifier further includes associating said one or more protection domains and said one or more classes based on data persistently stored, wherein said data associates code identifiers with a set of one or more permissions.
7. A method of providing security, the method comprising the steps of:
establishing one or more protection domains, wherein a protection domain is associated with zero or more permissions;
establishing an association between said one or more protection domains and one or more sources of code; and
in response to executing code making a request to perform an action, determining whether said request is permitted based on a source of said code making said request and said association between said one or more protection domains and said one or more sources of code.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of establishing an association between said one or more protection domains and said one or more sources of code further includes establishing an association between said one or more protection domains and said one or more sources of code and one or more keys associated with said one or more sources of code.
How to spot "software" claims
Patents can include claims on a mix of software and hardware ideas. When we say "hardware ideas", we mean claims that can only by infringed by making or distributing hardware. Here are example(s) of keywords that indicate that a claim might cover an idea which a software developer or software distributor might use:
- A method for... (at least in the USA)
Files are not just bits
To be a good technician / computer scientist, you have to be able to see past the purpose of files. A video is no more special than an image or a song. They're all just files of bits. But, in law, the purpose is important.
Related pages on ESP Wiki
- Reading case law
- Searching for patents
- State of the art - what is "prior art"?
- Design patents - which are not the same as normal patents
- Software patents are unreadable
- Patent governance
- What to do if worried by a software patent
