Patent claims
The patent claims are concisely and clearly formulated statements that explain what the invention consists of and the protection that is being claimed. It defines the invention in a legal sense.
There is a distinction made between independent and dependent patent claims.
Independent patent claims
Every patent application is comprised of at least one independent patent claim. This refers to all the features that a product or process must have in order to correspond to the invention. An independent patent claim is usually divided into:
- the preamble comprising
- a designation of the subject-matter of the invention
- those features in common between the invention and the prior art
- the characterising part with
- those features that are essential to the solution to the problem.
The law only allows multiple independent claims in a patent when a common inventive idea can be recognised.
Dependent patent claims
Dependent claims specify additional features that are beyond the necessary essential features. They always refer to an independent claim and therefore automatically take on the essential features of the invention.
You can get an idea of how a patent specification is structured and formulated in our sample document. Or you can order a print copy of a patent specification and we will send it to you free of charge.
Patent CH 691 664 A5Bekleidungsstück
Patent CH 692 336 A5Aussenumschlag für eine Schokoladentafel
Patent CH 691 497 A5Sicherheitstüre
Patent CH 692 456 A5Verfahren zur Herstellung von Aminobenzamiden
Documents & links
- Brochure «Applying for a patent» in German
- Brochure «Applying for a patent» in French
- Brochure «Applying for a patent» in Italian
- Technical Documents in German
- Technical Documents in French
- Technical Documents in Italian
- Technical documentation example in German
- Technical documentation example in French
- Technical documentation example in Italian
- Information sheet Patent Claims in German
- Information sheet Patent Claims in French
- Information sheet Patent Claims in Italian
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