Patent claims are statements in the patent document that define a patent owner's right on their invention with precise and exact terms that fully describe the boundaries of the invention or patent's scope. Per 35 U.S.C. § 112(b)-(f) give patent applicants some guidelines on how to draft their patent claims which are; (b) conclusion; (c) form; (d) reference in dependent forms; (e) reference in multiple dependent forms; (f) element in claim for a combination.
The use of language in patent claims is important because it will specify exactly what the invention is. Therefore, someone else is not permitted to make, use or sell without obtaining the owner's permission. If the patent owners do not recite precisely what the invention is, people could infringe on the invention that the patent owner has claimed.
When people infringe a patented invention, the patent claims will be checked against the infringing activity. This is one of the reasons why the patent owner should write and describe the invention not in a general way in the written description or specification as it is called in the patent application. Patent claims are also vital in a patent infringement case for the determination of unenforceability, enablement, and remedies, in which courts, not a jury, will review the party's brief or hear evidence and argument through the case of Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc, which conclude that construction of a patent claim, including the interpretation of a term of art used in the claim, is a question of law that the courts must decide. This process is one of the most distinctive aspects of patent litigation.
[Last updated in April of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]