Claim (patent)

Patent claims are usually in the form of a series of numbered expressions following the description of the invention in a patent or patent application, and define, in technical terms, the extent of the protection conferred by a patent or by a patent application, when applicable. They are of the utmost importance both in examination proceedings and in litigation, for instance during infringement actions.

Related Topics:
Invention - Patent - Patent application - Infringement

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There are two basic types of claims:

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• the independent claims, which stand on their own, and
• the dependent claims, which depend on a single claim or on several claims and generally express particular embodiments as fall-back positions. When a claim in one particular category (see below), e.g. a process claim, depends on a claim from a different category, e.g. a product claim, it is not considered to be a dependent claim but an independent claim (at least under the European Patent Convention).

Claims can also be classified in categories, i.e. in terms of what they claim. A claim can refer to

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• a physical entity, i.e. a product (or material) or an apparatus (or device, system, article, ...). The claim is then called respectively "product claim" or "apparatus claim"; or
• an activity, i.e. a process (or method) or a use. The claim is then called respectively "process claim" (or method claim) or "use claim".
 
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