by the first anniversary of the earliest provisional application. Because these are general rules, you should be sure and discuss the strategies, as well as the pros and cons, of filing a provisional application with your attorney before doing so. PATENT APPLICATION COMPONENTS A patent application can only be filed with the Patent Office by the actual inventor or his or her representative. The basic elements of a patent application are as follows: • A specification • An oath or declaration; • Drawings, when necessary; and • A filing fee. A specification is a written description of the invention or discovery that must clearly and concisely describe the manner and process of making and using the invention. It must be specific enough to enable a person who is knowledgeable in the particular area to which the invention relates to make and use the invention. In addition, the specification must describe the invention in such a way as to distinguish it from other previously known inventions. The specification should conclude with a claim or claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his or her invention or discovery. The claims legally define the patentable features of the invention. Each claim is a single sentence describing precisely what new, useful, and nonobvious features constitute the actual invention. The claims are the most important part of an application since the
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