Describing Patent Embodiments

Greetings inventors, investors, patent drafters and anyone interested in patents! This is Rabbi, Dr. Yosef Freedland, surgeon, and patent attorney; leader of the Medical Device Team at Appelfeld Zer Fisher — writing to you from the beautiful border of Ramat Gan, at the border of Bene Brak.

We are still into snails.

And during our last exciting adventure, you decided that your ultrasound probe may have additional applications, for example locating and viewing objects that are buried in the earth. So your ultrasound probe could be used in locating diamonds in a diamond mine.

And so you initially describe the invention in its use for the human body with all its associated configurations, ultrasound algorithms, use with KY jelly and other fluids, using the simple console and/or how to interpret the screen or print-out. When you cover all bases on your “preferred” embodiments, now comes the time to describe other uses (and configurations) for the probe. For example your probe, if configured with 24 transducers in a ring having a diameter of between about 1 and 2 feet, or even less that 1 foot or more than 2 feet –  can be used in locating diamonds.

Be sure to include factual material that supports this use, for example that the probe uses a “high surge” energy mode to get through a meter-or-so (about 3 feet) of dirt to locate diamonds.

With respect to our snail you would first describe a snail sitting on a leaf and eating away, how the snail eats the leaf, and how the snail moves using muscles that function in wave-form. Then you might describe where your snail roams and how the snail “tread” adapts to the various terrains. For example the snail may roam over dirt, sand and/or rocks. Additionally, you may describe how a snail has adaptations that allow the snail to eat food besides leaves. You may even describe how the snail makes and ejects fluid during movement.

 

Drafting a medical patent – part 1

Greetings inventors, investors, patent drafters and anyone interested in patents!

This is Rabbi, Dr. Yosef Freedland, surgeon, and patent attorney; leader of the Medical Device Team at Appelfeld Zer Fisher — writing to you from the beautiful border of Ramat Gan, at the border of Bene Brak.

Let’s take an imaginary invention and see how you might describe and write claims for this invention. Let’s say for example that you have an ultrasound probe that can locate foreign objects in a human body.

For example the little boy comes into the doctor’s office and has swallowed a stone. The doctor uses the ultrasound probe to locate the stone and be sure that the stone is moving through the intestines and has not gotten stuck on the way, for example by lodging near the appendix, causing appendicitis and resulting in emergency surgery to prevent, or clean up, an intestinal blow-out.

Great invention!

An office-based low cost diagnostic tool that can find foreign objects in the intestines, ears or nose AND possibly a tool that can provide an early warning of an enlarge appendix in an office setting, thereby ruling out a stomach ache in the hit list for appendicitis. Additionally or alternatively, the doctor can use the ultrasound probe to confirm that the stone has passed out of the colon when the probe no longer can locate the stone.

Now this ultrasound probe may have additional applications, for example locating and viewing objects that are buried in the earth. So your ultrasound probe could be used in locating diamonds in a diamond mine.

BTW, if you don’t like writing claims and drafts, you can key into something else, and escape from the drudgery.

Welcome to my blog on medical device patents

Greetings inventors, investors, patent drafters in all associated people!

By way of introduction my name is Yosef Freedland and I am the leader of the Medical Device Team at Appelfeld Zer Fisher (AZF) Patent attorneys. I am a patent attorney and have been drafting patents since just before the onset of Y2k.

I am also a surgeon and have rabbinical ordination.

My specialty is mechanical and electronic devices and specifically devices that are used in medicine. BTW I am dictating this with DragonDictate so this “blog” will be more of a stream of consciousness than if I was typing.

At any rate, this is my first Post. Please don’t laugh (LOL); it is an honest attempt to encompass some very complex issues in a non-complex Post, I hope.

To patent attorneys who read this Post and subsequent blogs from “The Border Patrol”, feel free to throw in some additional tips and/or anything else that you want, including criticism. One advantage of writing a blog is that at least you can’t criticize the pattern of the tie I wear. J

BTW, I am writing to you from the beautiful border of Ramat Gan, at the border of Bene Brak so the title of this Blog may have more than one meaning; which we can discuss later. I think what I’ll do is start with a simple explanation in a first Post and develop it to cover more complex issues in subsequent Posts.

Today I would like to start with explaining the description of an invention and structuring claims in the application.

A patent application is like a snail which has a shell that is attached to a living creature, the living creature we will call a slug. The slug moves all around and slowly but surely covers a lot of ground. However when push comes to shove, the slug pulls itself into the shell, providing the slug with protection.

Similarly, your invention should “move around” and cover all sorts of sizes and specification of similar devices, varied applications and/or configurations that are related to the invention.

However, when push comes to shove, you may need that snail shell into which the slug retracts; in order to protect the invention. Something we all should have done with our socked-away savings.
[…] to be continued […]