Patent drawing refers to a detailed illustration of the invention that is submitted during the Patent application procedure. The USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) demands the patentee to submit detailed Drawings about the invention with the Patent application. It helps the examiner to understand the making and working of the Invention easily. It is necessary for the Inventor to describe the Invention in the best possible way during the process of drafting Patent application.
Moreover, the examiners may reject the application if the Inventor fails to describe the invention clearly. Patent drawing helps the Inventor in such a scenario. It contains every minute detail that the Inventor might skip in the written documentation. The most efficient way to create a perfect set of drawings is to hire an experienced professional.
Patent Drawing: Rules and Guidelines
The USPTO provides a set of instructions in the form of Patent drawing rules for diagrams, flowcharts, photographs, and graphs that are submitted with the Patent application. One must follow the USPTO guidelines in order to increase the chances of Patent application to qualify.
Generally, Provisional Patents does not require drawings but non-Provisional Patents require a minimum of 1 drawing. You must keep the following rules in mind while working on these drawings:
- Use only black and white colors (you may use other colors only in specific cases).
- You must use India ink only.
- Keep the scale of the drawing to 2/3 the size of the reduced illustration.
- You must mention the application number, Invention’s name, Inventor’s name, and identification.
- Keep the size of the drawing sheet to 11inch by 8.5 inches.
- The drawing sheet must be white in color, flexible, non-shiny, and plane. Also, it must be free from overwriting, eraser marks and alterations.
- Maintain a margin of 1-inch at the top and left side, 3/8 inch at the right side and 5/8 inch at the bottom.
- You may use Formulas but it must represent a unique figure. Also, you may keep the related information between the brackets.
- Use of Waveforms is allowed but only as a single identity. Also, try to mention the designation adjacent to the vertical axis properly.
- Superimposing is not allowed.
- Use symbols and avoid solid shading.
- Always provide proper numbering that guides to the respective parts.
You must not limit the drawings to just illustrations. One may also add charts, graphs, and process diagrams. However, you must file a different patent in order to add the photographs (only high definition).
Useful guidelines
Following the guidelines and rules may help a lot but it is not the only thing that matters. There are some valuable points that are not asked by the USPTO but serve a lot to the Patent Drawings. Few key points that may add documental value to your drawings are:
- Neat and clean work related to numbering, graphs, and texts.
- No errors and overwriting.
- Overall neatness.
- Prefer using the metric system as it is followed globally.
- Prepare eye-catching and creative drawings.
Patent Drawing: Importance
Patent Drawings play a significant role while filing a Patent application. They include charts, equations, views from different angles, formulas, reference numbers, etc. It helps in a better understanding of the Invention.
You may determine the importance of these drawings with the following points:
- They contain visual details about the invention and every part along with different views. It helps the authorities to understand the Invention easily.
- The patentee may also include the information in the drawing that he might miss in the written description.
- They increase the chances of Patent acceptance for the very first time. Thus, it helps to save precious time and money.
Common mistakes
Man is prone to mistakes, but those mistakes may cause you a waste of money, time and effort. Thus, you must try to avoid them to get the Patent easily. The most common mistake that people make while preparing Patent drawings is the creation of Unclear diagrams.
The following practices make a drawing unclear and difficult to understand:
- Use of improper ink for coloring.
- Not marking the important parts.
- Absence of proper reference numbers.
- Not providing different views
- Compromising with quality
The drawings created on a low-quality sheet affect the finishing. Some other major mistakes are:
- Overwriting.
- Eraser marks.
- Improper margins.
Also read: Patent Paralegal: Duties to Perform
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