Drafting guide

From idea to dossier: what you need, the seven steps, and what prior art, claims and drawings are, on a didactic example.

• Before you start

  What you need to start a patent application, what not to do before filing and how long it takes. A plain guide for people starting from zero.

• Seven steps in Zenit

  From idea to patent dossier in seven steps: what you see, what you do, what you get and how long each step takes, plus the finished dossier.

• What can be patented

  Novelty, inventive step, industrial application, what is excluded, software and disclosure before filing, explained with a didactic example.

• Anatomy of a patent

  The parts of a patent explained on a didactic example: title, description, claims, drawings and abstract, with the rules that require each one.

• Understanding prior art

  What the state of the art is, how to read a document feature by feature, X, Y, A citations and why a search never proves novelty.

• Writing the claims

  How patent claims are written: independent, dependent, two-part form, reference numerals and common mistakes, shown on a worked didactic example.

• Drawing the figures

  When patent drawings are needed and how to make them: lines, reference numerals, FIG., scale, allowed text and Italian rules, with an example.

• Glossary

  Sixty-two patent terms explained in one or two sentences, in alphabetical order, with the source in brackets where the term is legal.