Violations of Claim Grammar: The legal and customary requirement of the claim structure stipulates that "a claim is a single sentence". The structure should start with a capital letter and end with a period, and those are the only capital letters or periods in the claim. Furthermore, many patent drafters divide the claim into subsections that end with semicolons. The second last subsection usually ought to have a "and" at the end.
Claiming a Result: Inventors obtain patents based on the invention rather than its outcome. This is due to the fact that they cannot claim a result but only the apparatus or method that achieves that result.
Focusing solely on the Independent Claim: Drafters devote so much time and effort to writing independent claims that they spend less time developing dependent claims. While this may be necessary, it is critical to pay close attention to dependent claims because they serve a specific purpose. When independent claims are rejected, drafters incorporate the dependent claim's limitations into the independent claim.
Avoid Using "Means-Plus-Function" Language: Using means-plus-function language adds limitations and narrows claims by excluding all equivalents unknown at the time of disclosure. As a result, "means-plus-function language" is preferred and recommended to be avoided. However, if it is to be used, it must include every possible variation of the "means" in the specifications.
Claims that are too broad: Claims should be broad, but there is a limit. Excessively broad claims apply to other devices or methods that are prior art. Consider an invention that is an improvement in a wrench that uses a rack-and-pinion arrangement to adjust the jaws. It may appear that claiming "a rack and pinion" rather than "a wrench comprising a jaw with a rack and a rotatable pinion gear engaged with the rack" is more expansive.
Inconsistent Terminology: Claims should always be written in a consistent manner. In patent litigation, claims with inconsistent claim terms can have unintended consequences. For example, if a motor is mentioned in the claims, the drafter should not use different nomenclature to refer to 'the motor'. Similarly, when referring to an element, it is best not to describe additional details about it.
Incorrect Transition Phrase: The transition phrase is used to connect the preamble to the body of the claim. Each word has a distinct meaning that, if misused, can have a significant impact on the claims. "Comprising" or "Comprises," for example, are open-ended transition phrases that include the following elements without excluding others. It is a preferred transitional word and should be used in the majority of cases.
Avoid Using Trademarks in Claims: It is best to use generic names in claims rather than trademarks. Trademarks only identify a specific product or service and not its description. Furthermore, while the product manufactured under the given trademark may change over time, the generic description of the product remains the same.
Adjective Overuse: The overuse of adjectives tends to over-describe the invention, limiting the scope of the claims. As a result, unnecessary adjectives should be avoided when writing claims.
Keywords to Avoid in Claims: As a best practise, avoid using words like exactly, can, could, must, might, prior art, large, small, heavy, above, below, right, left, and so on in the claims.
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