The Aunt that raised me from age 3 on is 91 years old and, for all practical purposes, is my Mother. While she is in great health and her mind is still sharp, she gets shorter every year and is light as a feather.
On Mothers’ Day weekend we visited her and took her out to eat. Upon exiting the car a very light breeze hit her and caused her to take a few steps backward to regain her balance. All of us, her included, laughed, since a puff of air threatened to blow her away. She commented that a friend of hers said that she was “going to put a brick in your pocket”.
What has this to do with patents, you ask?
Well, some patents are light weight and can be “blown away” by the slightest breeze. In other words, the claims in the patent have miniscule value.
Among some patent practitioners, the joke is that if a patent claim can be covered with two fingers, the probability of the Patent Examiner allowing it is close to zero (however, if it is allowed, it could be very commercially valuable). On the contrary, if a patent claim requires two hands to cover, the probability of allowance is very high (but the enforcement value of that claim is probably zero).
That being said, a “picture claim” that describes in tremendous detail the elements of the claimed invention and requires three or more hands to cover, can be very useful in your patent strategy.
Not all claims are created equal, their utility depends on your patent strategy.
If you don’t have a patent strategy your allowed claims might be so lightweight that investors or licensees might run, not walk, away from the negotiating table.
Find out more about patents from the Patents & More Blog by Ron Reardon, Patents & More, Inc. http://patentsandmore.com/blog/
God bless her.
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