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Patent drawing

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Patent drawing

A patent application or patent may contain drawings, also called patent drawings, illustrating the invention, some of its embodiments (which are particular implementations or methods of carrying out the invention), or the prior art. The drawings may be required by the law to be in a particular form, and the requirements may vary depending on the jurisdiction.

Under the European Patent Convention, Article 78(1) EPC provides that a European patent application shall contain any drawings referred to in the description or the claims. Drawings are therefore optional. Rule 46 EPC specifies the form in which the drawings must be executed.

The European search report is drawn up in respect of a European patent application on the basis of the claims, with due regard to the description and any drawings. In addition, the extent of the protection conferred by a European patent or a European patent application is determined by the claims, with the description and drawings being used to interpret the claims.

The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an international agreement administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) that simplifies the process of seeking patent protection across many countries. By filing a single "international" patent application, an inventor can achieve the same legal effect as filing separate national applications in all PCT member states. This unified procedure allows applicants up to 30 months from their initial filing date to decide in which specific national or regional offices to pursue a patent, thus providing valuable time to assess market potential and defer significant costs. The ultimate decision to grant a patent, however, remains with the individual national or regional patent offices during a later "national phase".

In the United States, the applicant for a patent is required by law to furnish a drawing of the invention whenever the nature of the case requires a drawing to understand the invention. This drawing must be filed with the application. This includes practically all inventions except compositions of matter or processes, but a drawing may also be useful in the case of many processes.

The drawing must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims, and is required by the U.S. patent office rules to be in a particular form. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) specifies the size of the sheet on which the drawing is made, the type of paper, the margins, and other details relating to the making of the drawing. 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.

No names or other identification are permitted within the "sight" of the drawing, and applicants are expected to use the space above and between the hole locations to identify each sheet of drawings. This identification may consist of the attorney's name and docket number or the inventor's name and application number and may include the sheet number and the total number of sheets filed (for example, "sheet 2 of 4"). The following rule, reproduced from title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations, relates to the standards for drawings: [clarification needed]

From 1790 to 1880 in the US, patent models were required. A patent model was a scratch-built miniature model no larger than 12" by 12" by 12", approximately 30 cm by 30 cm by 30 cm, that showed how an invention works. Some inventors still willingly submitted models at the turn of the twentieth century. In some cases, an inventor may still want to present a "working model" as an evidence to prove actual reduction to practice in an interference proceeding. In some jurisdictions patent models stayed an aid to demonstrate the operation of the invention. In applications involving genetics, samples of genetic material or DNA sequences may be required.

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