Do You Put Measurements On A Patent Drawing?

If you are going to file a patent awarding yous must have drawings to include in the application, but patent drawings are not the just type of "drawings" that an inventor should be considering. Patent drawings are wonderful for a patent awarding, but they don't always do the invention justice if you are trying to capture the attending of a prospective licensee, or if you lot are trying to convince a buyer to place orders or sell the invention in their store.

Simply stated, patent drawings and other types of invention drawings, such every bit 3D renderings and photo realistic virtual prototypes serve unlike purposes.  For instance, take a look at the figure below, provided courtesy of Enhance Innovations a product development company with a nifty deal of experience licensing and developing products in consumer markets.  The patent illustration is on the left, and a branded, photo realistic virtual epitome is shown on the right.  Which do you retrieve would better capture the attention of a prospective licensee?

Of course, the patent drawing contains reference numerals that are used past the patent attorney in theDetailed Description of the patent application, and this is a perfectly fine illustration to include in a patent awarding.  But remember, the signal of the Detailed Description is to describe what is shown in the figures (at a minimum).  This is done in writing as if the reader is continuing next to y'all as you draw what the figure shows.  You use the reference numerals to draw the attention of the reader to the office of the figure you are discussing at whatsoever given fourth dimension.  That, however, is noise when you are trying to capture the attention of a prospective licensee. What you need and want is something that allows the person y'all are pitching to rapidly and easily envision the product as information technology volition be sold. As necessary as patent drawings are they simply exercise non capture the consumer product with nearly the same affect as a 3D rendering does.

With patent drawings you can testify exploded views (see effigy beneath) that allow y'all to evidence how the pieces and parts fit together.  This enables the patent chaser to describe how to brand the invention pace by footstep, which is not only a good idea merely a requirement for any patent awarding.  Of course, such exploded views invariably focus on the internal, not the external.  Will a prospective licensee actually be concerned, at least in the first case, about the internal workings?  A prospective licensee will no doubt desire to know about the internal workings and how everything is put together, but that comes only after you accept captured their attention and they are set, willing and interested to larn more. So in the start instance a 3D rendering or photo realistic virtual image is far more probable to capture the attention of the prospective licensee. You want to grab them with a compelling visual presentation of a real and tangible product. Once they are interested you tin go deeper.

Taken from U.South. Patent No. v,839,263, which relates to a backyard mower bract with replacement knives.

A patent bidder is required* to replenish at to the lowest degree one patent drawing (sometimes referred to every bit a patent analogy) of the invention whenever the invention is capable of illustration by way of a drawing. Said another way, whenever a drawing would assist in the agreement of an invention you lot need at least 1 patent cartoon. Based on my experience I tin can say that a patent drawing is nearly always required, and fifty-fifty if it is not technically required you lot should have at least one patent cartoon. Why have the run a risk that the patent examiner will require patent drawings? If y'all need a patent drawing and one is non provided in the original filing a non-provisional patent application you are not even awarded a filing date, which can be catastrophic. Thus, I urge inventors to understand the patent drawing requirement in this way: The only fourth dimension patent drawings are not required is when the invention relates to a chemical compound, composition or a method.

In my opinion information technology is always better to exist prophylactic than sorry with drawings. That is why I always advocate for filing patent applications with more drawings. Drawings are not free, only they do not cost very much given the overall cost of filing for and obtaining a patent. I think most applications include too few drawings. It is, therefore, advisable to file with multiple drawings. For more than on working with patent drawings seePatent Drawings 101: The Mode to Better Patent Applications.

Detailed drawings are indeed worth one 1000 words, if not more. This is true because if you accidentally leave something out of the written disclosure, a drawing you submit may salve you in the long run, provided of course it is detailed enough to convey nuanced data most your invention. Because the detail of the patent drawing is what saves you, having a professional patent illustrator is quite wise. Without question, the best way to broaden the scope of any application is to file the application with multiple, detailed and professional drawings. The benefit received from professional patent illustration is well worth the investment.

And then yous should rush off to a patent illustrator and get your invention illustrated with numerous drawings showing a diverseness of views from different vantage points, right? To quote Lee Corso of ESPN College Football game Gameday fame – Not so fast my friend!

What if you could get initial illustrations that tin be used for multiple dissimilar purposes? That would brand the near sense considering it is more economical, and you can if you lot work with someone that does 3D rendering.

According to Mike Shop, an Industrial Designer with Heighten Innovations, "The reality is that completing production development, through pattern, engineering, tooling, etc. is very expensive and isn't viable for the average inventor with a great idea. Our services seek to key in on developing a feasible product by fleshing it out with the inventor, designing information technology in CAD."  In fact, if you lot look at the epitome below which shows the Heighten procedure, Heighten starts with the inventor concept and moves on to concept sketching before engaging in 3D CAD product evolution.

From the 3D CAD renderings a photo realistic virtual prototype is created, which can then be branded and added to the sell sail. By post-obit this process the 3D CAD renderings can be output as line drawings that make exceptionally good patent drawings, at least for a provisional patent application where the focus is disclosure. The Patent Part will never examine a provisional patent application, then none of the picky patent cartoon rules volition be enforced confronting provisional patent drawings. Therefore, you just need to take quality line drawings for a provisional patent awarding. Once the 3D CAD renderings are done as many drawings every bit you want tin be output, from various rotated viewpoints, too as a diverseness of shut-upward views.

True, patent drawings must testify every feature of the invention specified in the claims, and for a non-conditional patent application they are required to be in a particular form. The Patent Office specifies the size of the drawing sheet on which the analogy is made, the blazon of paper, the margins, and many other hyper-technical details relating to the making of the drawings, including shading and size of text if present. The reason for specifying the standards in detail is that the drawings are printed and published in a compatible style when the patent issues, and the drawings must besides be such that they can be readily understood by persons using the patent descriptions. Only none of these rules apply to provisional patent drawings, and the focus of a provisional patent application is to demonstrate the entirety of the invention. What amend way to do that than with numerous drawings that have been output later on a 3D CAD rendering? Thus, the 3D CAD rendering becomes for focal point for assuasive the inventor to obtain all of the types of illustrations they will need initially.

Every bit you move forwards to the photo realistic virtual prototyping, which is anywhere from 10 to 100 times cheaper than developing a single real-world epitome, the cosmos of the "sell canvas" becomes critical for those who are looking to license their invention. Trevor Lambert, President of Lambert & Lambert, a group of licensing specialists that work on a contingency basis, explains:

Our sell sheets feature the production design developed through 3D CAD software with large photograph-realistic rendered images of the product. Commonly we will even brand the product with the potential licensee's make, so each sell sheet is tailored for a specific licensee. This allows the decision makers to visualize what the product would look like fully developed nether their product line. This becomes a powerful sales tool and something I refer to as a "psychological bridge" that nosotros have found greatly improves the license success rate.

With your invention the ultimate goal is to make money.  To brand money requires one to spend money, just y'all absolutely have to practise that wisely so that you lot do non run out of funds halfway through a project.  Inventors need to create a budget and do the almost they tin can with the money they have to spend.  If your goal is to concenter a licensing bargain yous need to make your invention as real equally possible.  Creating a virtual epitome that can be added to a sell sheet and circulated is definitely a winning strategy.  The fact that the steps toward that strategy will give y'all a plethora of patent drawings to include in a conditional patent filing is a bonus!  Afterward all, you lot are probable going to need to file the conditional patent application in gild to accept the commencement steps toward securing exclusive rights.  That mode you have something tangible to license in terms of visual presentation and in terms of intellectual property protection.

Happy inventing!

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* Starting December 18, 2022, it is now possible to obtain a filing engagement on a nonprovisional patent application without a drawing existence present at the time of filing. This new dominion does not change the reality that at least a single cartoon is required when necessary. Thus, filing an application without a drawing is enormously risky and should be avoided. A drawing is worth a thousand words, if not more. If y'all endeavour and add a drawing afterward filing yous volition nigh certainly exist prevented from doing and so considering despite the fact that a cartoon is not required to become a filing date you lot however cannot add together new matter later you lot file a patent application. Adding drawings volition ordinarily add material, which is admittedly prohibited. The Patent Office has cautioned applicants that it remains best practice to file with drawings.

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Source: https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2015/05/30/patent-drawings-what-do-you-need/id=58190/

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