Writing Patent Claims

Patent claims are the legal basis for your patent protection. They form a protective boundary line around your patent that lets others know when they are infringing on your rights. The limits of this line are defined by the words and phrasing of your claims. Here are a few tips on writing patent claims. Did you know that every claim is only one sentence, however, they can be really long sentences for example:

Patent #7,163,009 Claim 1 for a toy gun for launching a foam projectile
A toy gun for launching a foam projectile, the toy gun comprising: a housing having an outlet and an inlet, both the outlet and the inlet sized to permit passage of the projectile; a launch station disposed in the housing, the launch station arranged to receive the projectile from the inlet; a crank mounted to the housing; a resilient actuating paddle disposed within the housing and mounted to an axle, the axle rotatable in response to rotation of the crank, the paddle shiftable between an undeflected position and an energy storing deflected position, the paddle moveable along a path in response to rotation of the axle and sized to extend into the launch station; and a post disposed in the path, the post positioned to shift the paddle to the deflected position in response to rotation of the axle, the paddle arranged to disengage the post in response to continued rotation of the axle thereby releasing stored energy as the paddle returns to the undeflected position and travels through the launch station.
Illustration: USPTO