monopoly granted by a patent covers only the material appearing in the claims. An example of a claim for a type of billiard table having a novel cushion is as follows: A playing table comprising: a playing surface and a raised marginal edge portion surrounding said surface, said raised marginal edge portion having a longitudinally extending recess therein, and a cushion consisting only of a base disposed in said recess and a downwardly accurately extending cantilevered lip integral with said base and extending away from substantially the top of said base. Although, similar to the provisional application, a utility application need not include claims at the time of filing, it must include such claims shortly thereafter, since the claims are a primary portion of the application document on which examination is based. Furthermore, it is typically good practice to include claims in the original utility application filing to ensure that the claims are consistent with the specification and are of appropriate scope. The applicant is required to furnish a drawing of his or her invention when necessary for understanding the nature of the invention. In other words, if it is possible to draw the invention, a drawing must be included. As many drawings as are necessary to fully describe the invention are required. An oath or declaration must be signed by the inventor(s) and filed with the application, stating that the named inventor is believed to be the original inventor of the invention which is claimed. By signing the oath, the inventor acknowledges his or her duty to disclose any information known to or later discovered by the inventor which is relevant to the examination of the application by the Patent Office. The Patent Office also requires the submission of an Information
10
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker