ESP Wiki is looking for moderators and active contributors!

How to read patents

Revision as of 00:56, 21 August 2010 by 72.167.162.127 (talk) (Target the claims, not the summary!)

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. Prior art is useful if it shows that someone has already done what's in the claims.

DafdhT <a href="http://cqkbhzgjvkeh.com/">cqkbhzgjvkeh</a>, [url=http://ftjtrznknwri.com/]ftjtrznknwri[/url], [link=http://iomumzwqxfue.com/]iomumzwqxfue[/link], http://pijjaxotevzc.com/

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

External links