The patent application should be written in the following order with the assistance of the outline:
- Write at least one claim,
- Write the detailed description,
- Write the brief summary,
- Write the background,
- Write the first summary paragraphs for the detailed description and brief summary, and
- Write the abstract.
The suggested order above allows you to craft good summary paragraphs which are placed at the beginning of the detailed description and brief summary sections of the patent application. Also, the suggested order helps you to write a concise abstract. The summary paragraphs and the abstract are the words and concepts that everyone that reads the patent application and ultimately the patent WILL read. No matter where the reader starts when learning about the invention, you want them to have a pinpoint understanding of the invention. As such, you need to make a good impact. The reader will be able to understand the invention within a few minutes of reading the patent application.
These paragraphs are written after you have written all of the other parts of the patent application. By doing so, you now have had the time to think about the invention and write about the invention for many hours. You’ve been practicing how to express the invention in words. The summary paragraphs and the abstract are your attempts in explaining the invention in a concise manner. Consider it a way to practice your 30-second pitch you might do to a patent examiner. You are explaining technical aspects of the invention to an examiner within 30 seconds or less.
As you can see from the order above, you will write one claim to help you get started. In patent law, everything starts and ends with the claims.
Thereafter, you will write the detailed description section. You will spend at least 10 to 25 hours writing this section. The time you spend here gives you the practice you need to concisely explain the point of novelty of your invention.
The brief summary should be treated as a formality. The claims must find support in other parts of the application. The claims are rewritten into sentence format in this section so that the words in the claims have an antecedent basis in the other parts of the patent application. By rewriting the claims, you are practicing how to describe the invention in a formal tone.
The background helps you to explain the invention in context. Once again, you are practicing how to explain the backstory of the invention.
The first paragraph of the brief summary and detailed description as well as the abstract are a few of the most important parts of the patent application. After all of the practice above, you now have the opportunity to explain the invention in a concise manner that focuses on the point of novelty of the invention.
Writing the patent application in the order above helps you to craft great summary paragraphs and the abstract.
Disclaimer: Use the information in this article at your own risk. It takes many years to learn how to draft a well-written patent application under the guidance of a more senior patent attorney.