Patent Drawings: An Economical Way to Expand Disclosure

From U.S. Patent No. 6,655,077, titled "Trap for a mouse."

The patent applicant is required to furnish at least one patent drawing (sometimes referred to as a patent illustration) of the invention whenever the invention is capable of illustration by way of a drawing. Said another way, whenever a drawing would assist in the understanding of an invention you need at least one patent drawing. Based on my experience I can say that a patent drawing is almost always required, or at the very least you would do well to understand the rule as a patent drawing is virtually always required.

The only time patent drawings are not required is when the invention relates to a chemical compound or composition.  You can also get away without a drawing sometimes with method inventions, but I wouldn’t advise it.  There is almost always at least some illustration that could assist the reader (and patent examiner) and the drawings are a part of the overall disclosure. For example, just take a look at the illustration below, taken from U.S. Patent No. 6,618,977, which relates to a method and device for harvesting earthworms. 

Yes, that is just a picture of a guy watering the ground with a chlorine solution, so don’t tell me that there is no way to illustrate a method.  You can almost always depict at least something with an image, and if you can you should.  You never know when  you might need to make a very fine argument that your disclosure shows something and the only support you have is in a drawing.  Perhaps not the best argument to make, but one that can and has prevailed in the past.  I don’t recommend leaving things out of your written disclosure, but if you accidentally leave something out of the text and it is shown in a drawing you are saved.  Drawings are your best friend in a patent application and provide a very nice safety net.  A picture really is worth 1,000 words, and then some, so don’t skimp on patent drawings!

In reality, you should also not think in terms of a single patent drawing or illustration, but rather in terms of however many patent drawings are necessary in order to demonstrate what you have invented. Most patent applications have at least several sheets of drawings, with each sheet routinely having multiple views of the invention. You may need to show various views (top, bottom, right, left, etc.) and you may need to break down the invention and show drawings of one or more of the component parts.

The drawings should show every feature of the invention specified in the claims, and as you probably guessed given the peculiar requirements of the United States Patent and Trademark Office there are specific rules governing nearly every aspect of patent drawings.  That is why you are best served to leave patent drawings to the professionals.

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The Patent Office specifies the size of the sheet on which the drawing is made, the type of paper, the margins, and many other hyper-technical details relating to the making of the drawings. The reason for specifying the standards in detail is that the drawings are printed and published in a uniform style when the patent issues, and the drawings must also be such that they can be readily understood by persons using the patent descriptions.  In reality, however, the drawings need to be electronically reproducible and given that patent illustrations are line drawings certain shading conventions need to be in place to provide a means for showing depth and various perceptions.

At the application stage there is no need to provide a drawing that formally meets all the requirements set forth in the patent laws, but many of the less technical requirements do apply as of the time of filing, such as the need to use the right size font to label aspects of the illustration and margin requirements. In my experience, however, the Patent Office is increasingly becoming more picky with respect to at least some of the drawing requirements.  It is not uncommon for those submitting do-it-yourself drawings to obtain a Notice from the Patent Office right away saying that new drawings must be submitted.  If you get such a notice you absolutely must take action or your application will go abandoned.  I would recommend getting in touch with your friendly neighborhood patent illustrator, sending them a copy of the USPTO Notice and then picking up the phone to chat.

While formally compliant drawings are not technically always required at the time of filing, there are significant benefits to submitting professional patent illustrations at the time of filing. Indeed, it is my opinion that the better view is that formal, professional patent drawings are essential in any application. Remember, the primary benefit of filing an application is to capture a filing date that can be used to demonstrate priority of invention. Generally speaking, anything that comes after your filing date cannot be prior art to your application. In order to capture the full benefit of a filing date, a patent application needs to completely cover the invention and all permutations as of the time the application is filed, thus multiple patent illustrations are quite helpful.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the chief patent law court in the United States, has frequently consulted patent drawings in order to determine what one of skill in the art would have considered disclosed at the time the application was filed. Detailed drawings are indeed worth one thousand words, if not more. This is true because if you accidentally leave something out of the written disclosure, a drawing you submit may save you in the long run, provided of course it is detailed enough to convey nuanced information about your invention.

Because the detail of the patent drawing is what saves you, having a professional patent illustrator is quite wise. Without question, the best way to broaden the scope of any application is to file the application with multiple, detailed and professional drawings. The benefit received from professional patent illustration is well worth the investment.

When dealing with mechanical inventions I am a particular fan of exploded views, which show all the pieces and parts in a state of suspended animation about to collapse backward into the finished product.  An example of this, as well as a reminder that Valentine’s day is right around the corner, comes from U.S. Patent No. 5,735,075 (see left), which relates to a floral arrangement with gift box support.  Another example of an exploded view can be found in U.S. Patent No. 6,404,042, for example, relating to a semiconductor device (see below).

Now, how do you make the drawings? To be honest with you I don’t know and I don’t want to know. There are so many rules and regulations with respect to patent drawings that I would rather focus my time and energy on the law and the process than on meeting the technical requirements and also trying to figure out a drawing program. This is, in fact, the way virtually all patent attorneys and patent agents treat drawings, which is why we turn to professional patent illustrators to do drawings for us. The benefit of hiring someone is that these folks specialize in patent drawings, they know all of the little picky details, and the drawings they make will be accepted by the Patent Office the first time around.

You will probably be surprised at how affordable it is to hire a professional patent illustrator. Typical charges can run between $50 to $125 per drawing sheet, depending upon the complexity of the invention.  The cost of patent illustrations is very reasonable in light of the importance of drawings and the peace of mind associated with knowing that a drawing has been done right.

For more information on related topics please see:

Patent Illustrations and Invention Drawings, What do you Need?

Tips & Tricks for Describing an Invention in a Patent Application

Turning Your Idea into an Invention

Patent Art: Interesting & Unique Patent Drawings

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