37 CFR § 1.71 — Detailed description and specification of the (MPEP Coverage Index) – BlueIron IP
37 CFR § 1.71 Detailed description and specification of the
This page consolidates MPEP guidance interpreting 37 CFR § 1.71, including 152 rules from the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure. It is provided as guidance, with links to the ground truth sources. This is information only, it is not legal advice.
Summary
The patent specification is a comprehensive written description that explains an invention's technical details, operational methodology, and manner of making and using, serving as the foundational document for understanding the patent's scope.
What this section covers
- Provides a fundamental documentation of the invention's technical details and operational methodology.
- Creates a complete and clear description that enables skilled professionals to understand and reproduce the invention.
Key obligations
- Provide a detailed description that enables any person skilled in the art to understand and make use of the invention, as required by patent regulations.
- Explain the invention's manner of making and using with sufficient clarity for a person skilled in the relevant art.
Conditions and exceptions
- Recognize special filing requirements for applications submitted before December 18, 2013, regarding specification completeness.
Practice notes
- Draft the specification with precision to comprehensively describe the invention's technical aspects and potential variations.
- Include sufficient detail to demonstrate the inventor's complete possession of the claimed invention.
Official MPEP § 1.71 — Detailed description and specification of the
Source: USPTOLast Modified: 10/30/2024 08:50:22
1.71 Detailed description and specification of the invention.
- (a) The specification must include a written description of the invention or discovery and of the manner and process of making and using the same, and is required to be in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art or science to which the invention or discovery appertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same.
- (b) The specification must set forth the precise invention for which a patent is solicited, in such manner as to distinguish it from other inventions and from what is old. It must describe completely a specific embodiment of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter or improvement invented, and must explain the mode of operation or principle whenever applicable. The best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention must be set forth.
- (c) In the case of an improvement, the specification must particularly point out the part or parts of the process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter to which the improvement relates, and the description should be confined to the specific improvement and to such parts as necessarily cooperate with it or as may be necessary to a complete understanding or description of it.
- (d) A copyright or mask work notice may be placed in a design or utility patent application adjacent to copyright and mask work material contained therein. The notice may appear at any appropriate portion of the patent application disclosure. For notices in drawings, see § 1.84(s) . The content of the notice must be limited to only those elements provided for by law. For example, “©1983 John Doe”(17 U.S.C. 401) and “*M* John Doe” (17 U.S.C. 909) would be properly limited and, under current statutes, legally sufficient notices of copyright and mask work, respectively. Inclusion of a copyright or mask work notice will be permitted only if the authorization language set forth in paragraph (e) of this section is included at the beginning (preferably as the first paragraph) of the specification.
- (e) The authorization shall read as follows:
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to (copyright or mask work) protection. The (copyright or mask work) owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all (copyright or mask work) rights whatsoever.
- (f) The specification must commence on a separate sheet. Each sheet including part of the specification may not include other parts of the application or other information. The claim(s), abstract, and “Sequence Listing” (if required or submitted under § 1.821(c) ) should not be included on a sheet including any other part of the application.
- (g)
- (1) The specification may disclose or be amended to disclose the names of the parties to a joint research agreement as defined in § 1.9(e) .
- (2) An amendment under paragraph (g)(1) of this
section must be accompanied by the processing fee set forth
in §
1.17(i)
if not filed within one of the following time periods:
- (i) Within three months of the filing date of a national application;
- (ii) Within three months of the date of entry of the national stage as set forth in § 1.491 in an international application;
- (iii) Before the mailing of a first Office action on the merits; or
- (iv) Before the mailing of a first Office action after the filing of a request for continued examination under § 1.114 .
- (3) If an amendment under paragraph (g)(1) of this section is filed after the date the issue fee is paid, the patent as issued may not necessarily include the names of the parties to the joint research agreement. If the patent as issued does not include the names of the parties to the joint research agreement, the patent must be corrected to include the names of the parties to the joint research agreement by a certificate of correction under 35 U.S.C. 255 and § 1.323 for the amendment to be effective.
[paras. (d) and (e), 53 FR 47808, Nov. 28, 1988, effective Jan. 1, 1989; para. (d), 58 FR 38719, July 20, 1993, effective Oct. 1, 1993; para. (f) added, 68 FR 38611, June 30, 2003, effective July 30, 2003; para. (g) added, 70 FR 1818, Jan. 11, 2005, effective Dec. 10, 2004; para. (g) revised, 70 FR 54259, Sept. 14, 2005, effective Sept. 14, 2005; para. (g)(1) revised, 78 FR 11024, Feb. 14, 2013, effective Mar. 16, 2013; para. (f) revised, 86 FR 57035, Oct. 14, 2021, effective Nov. 15, 2021]
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