A patent glossary in plain English

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35 U.S.C. § 297Administration

The federal law that requires invention promoters to give individual inventors five written disclosures before a contract, including how many past customers made a net profit or obtained a license through the promoter. Customers harmed by false statements or missing disclosures can sue for damages (35 U.S.C. § 297).

A

AbandonmentDocuments & Status

The end of a pending application, either on purpose or because a deadline was missed, such as the reply to an office action. An application abandoned unintentionally can sometimes be revived by petition.

AbstractDocuments & Status

A short summary of the technical disclosure on the front page of a patent or publication, preferably no more than 150 words under USPTO rules (37 CFR 1.72). It helps with screening but does not define what the patent covers.

AnnuityAdministration

A periodic renewal fee that many countries charge, often every year, to keep a patent or a pending application alive. The word is also used loosely for US maintenance fees, which fall due only three times.

AssigneeAdministration

The owner of a patent or application by assignment, often the inventor’s employer. The assignee printed on a patent is the owner at the time of issue; later changes appear only in the assignment records.

AssignmentAdministration

A written transfer of ownership of a patent or application, in whole or in part.

B

Backward citationSearch

A document cited by a patent or application, whether by the applicant or the examiner. Backward citations show what the patent was measured against during examination.

Boolean searchSearch

A search that combines keywords and classification codes with operators such as AND, OR, NOT, and proximity limits. It is precise and repeatable, but it misses documents that describe the same idea in different words.

Broken linesDesign & Drawings

Dashed lines in design patent drawings that show the environment or unclaimed parts of an article. Under USPTO practice, anything drawn in broken lines forms no part of the claimed design (MPEP 1503.02).

C

Chain of titleValuation & Deals

The sequence of assignments from the inventors to the current owner. Gaps or errors in the recorded chain can complicate a sale, license, or financing.

Citation analysisAnalytics

Using the network of backward and forward citations to find related documents, influential patents, and companies that build on each other’s work. It produces leads; a citation alone doesn’t establish relevance or value.

ClaimDocuments & Status

A numbered sentence at the end of a patent that defines the legal boundary of its protection. The claims, not the drawings or the description, set what the patent covers.

Claim chartAnalytics

A table that places each element of a patent claim beside matching passages from a reference or features of a product. A chart is a technical mapping; legal conclusions drawn from it belong to counsel.

Comparable transactionValuation & Deals

A past sale or license of similar patents, used as a reference point in the market approach. Good comparables are scarce, because most deal terms are confidential.

ContinuationDocuments & Status

A later application that uses the same disclosure as a pending parent application and pursues different claims. Filed while the parent is still pending, it keeps the parent’s filing date for what the parent disclosed.

Continuation-in-part (CIP)Documents & Status

A later application that repeats much of a pending parent and adds new matter. Claims supported by the parent keep the parent’s date; claims that rely on the new matter get the CIP’s own filing date.

Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC)Search

A detailed classification system for patent documents, jointly managed by the EPO and the USPTO and launched in January 2013. Built on the IPC, it lets searchers find documents by technology regardless of wording. For example, subclass A47J covers kitchen equipment.

Cost approachValuation & Deals

A valuation method based on what it would cost to recreate or replace the technology. It reflects what was spent, not what the patent can earn, so it is mostly used as a cross-check.

D

Data roomValuation & Deals

A secure, access-controlled repository where documents are shared with prospective buyers, licensees, investors, or lenders during due diligence.

Dependent claimDocuments & Status

A claim that refers back to an earlier claim and adds at least one further limitation, so it is narrower than the claim it depends on (35 U.S.C. § 112(d)).

Design patentDesign & Drawings

A US patent for a new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture (35 U.S.C. § 171). It has a single claim defined by its drawings, lasts 15 years from grant (14 for older applications), and has no maintenance fees.

Divisional applicationDocuments & Status

An application carved out of a pending parent, usually after the examiner requires the applicant to restrict the claims to one invention. It claims a different invention disclosed in the parent and keeps the parent’s filing date.

DocketingAdministration

Tracking every deadline and status event for a set of patents and applications, such as fee due dates and office-action reply dates, so that nothing falls due unnoticed.

Drawing sheetDesign & Drawings

One page of patent drawings. US rules require A4 or 8½ × 11-inch sheets, solid black lines, and minimum margins on every side (37 CFR 1.84).

Due diligenceValuation & Deals

The fact-finding review a buyer, investor, or lender carries out before a transaction, covering ownership, status, family coverage, fees, encumbrances, and commercial context.

E

EPOAdministration

The European Patent Office, which examines applications and grants European patents under the European Patent Convention. After grant, a European patent takes effect in the member countries the owner chooses.

EspacenetSearch

The European Patent Office’s free online patent search service, covering documents from patent offices around the world (EPO).

EssentialityStandards

Whether a patent claim must be practiced to implement a standard. It is a technical and legal question. Our SEP mapping provides technical concordance between claims and standard sections, not essentiality opinions.

Evidence of use (EoU)Analytics

Public technical facts, such as product manuals, datasheets, teardown photos, and documentation, that show how a product works in relation to the elements of a patent claim. EoU supports sale and licensing discussions; any conclusion about infringement belongs to counsel.

Exclusive licenseValuation & Deals

A license under which only the licensee may practice the invention within a defined field, territory, or period, sometimes excluding even the owner.

ExpirationDocuments & Status

The end of a patent’s term. A US utility patent generally expires 20 years after the earliest US nonprovisional or PCT filing date it claims, adjusted for any term adjustment or extension, and sooner if a maintenance fee goes unpaid or a terminal disclaimer applies. Design patents last 15 years from grant, or 14 years for older applications (35 U.S.C. § 173).

Exploded viewDesign & Drawings

A drawing that shows the parts of an assembly separated along their axes, so their order and relationships are visible. US drawing rules permit exploded views, with the separated parts embraced by a bracket.

F

Field-of-use licenseValuation & Deals

A license limited to one application or market, such as wind energy or medical devices, so the same patent can be licensed separately in other fields.

FigureDesign & Drawings

One numbered view on a drawing sheet, labeled FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and so on. A single unnumbered view is the exception.

Forward citationSearch

A later patent document that cites a given patent. Forward citations are a rough signal of influence on later work, but counts vary with the field and the patent’s age.

FRANDStandards

Fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory: the licensing commitment that owners of standard-essential patents give to many standards bodies. It does not fix a rate; rates are negotiated and, in disputes, can be set by courts.

Freedom to operate (FTO)Search

Whether a product or process can be made, used, or sold in a given country without infringing someone else’s in-force patents. An FTO opinion is a legal opinion that only a patent attorney can give. A product clearance search supplies the in-force patents that the opinion relies on.

G

Grace periodAdministration

The 6 months after each maintenance-fee due date during which the fee can still be paid, with a surcharge. If it isn’t paid by the end of the grace period, the patent expires. In prior-art law, the term also refers to the 1-year exception for certain disclosures by the inventor.

GUI designDesign & Drawings

A design patent for a computer-generated interface or icon for a computer, display, or computer system. USPTO supplemental guidance announced in March 2026 recognizes projections and holograms, and no longer requires the display itself to be drawn when the title and claim identify the article (USPTO).

I

Income approachValuation & Deals

A valuation method that estimates the present value of the future income a patent is expected to generate or protect, discounted for time and risk.

Independent claimDocuments & Status

A claim that stands on its own without referring to any other claim. It is usually the broadest statement of the invention.

Information disclosure statement (IDS)Documents & Status

A filing in which an applicant lists references known to be material to patentability, as part of the duty of candor owed to the USPTO. Search reports often feed an IDS prepared by the applicant’s practitioner.

InfringementDocuments & Status

Making, using, offering to sell, selling, or importing a patented invention in the United States without authority during the patent’s term (35 U.S.C. § 271). Whether it has occurred is a legal question for courts. Evidence-of-use research documents technical facts only.

International Patent Classification (IPC)Search

A hierarchical classification of technology administered by WIPO under the 1971 Strasbourg Agreement. It has eight sections and tens of thousands of subdivisions, and patent offices in more than 100 countries use it (WIPO).

Invalidity searchSearch

A deep search for prior art dated before an issued patent’s effective filing date, aimed at its claims. Courts and the USPTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board decide validity challenges; the search supplies the references.

Invention promoterAdministration

Under 35 U.S.C. § 297, a person or firm that offers or performs invention promotion services for an individual inventor, such as finding a company to develop and market the inventor’s product. Firms that evaluate, license, or sell issued utility patents or filed nonprovisional utility applications are excluded.

InventorAdministration

A person who contributed to the conception of at least one claimed invention. Inventorship is a legal question, and it is separate from ownership.

IPR declarationStandards

A statement a patent owner submits to a standards body, identifying patents it believes may be essential and usually committing to license them on FRAND terms. It is a licensing commitment, not proof that a patent is essential.

Issue dateDocuments & Status

The date a patent is granted, which also starts the clock for maintenance-fee windows. US patents issue on Tuesdays (USPTO Official Gazette).

K

Kind codeDocuments & Status

Letters and numbers after a document number that identify the type of document. On US documents, A1 marks a published application, B1 a granted patent with no earlier publication, B2 a granted patent that was published before grant, and S1 a design patent (USPTO).

L

Lead lineDesign & Drawings

The thin line that connects a reference numeral to the feature it identifies. US rules ask for lead lines that are as short as possible and never cross each other.

LicenseValuation & Deals

Permission from a patent owner, given in a written agreement, to practice a patented invention without transferring ownership.

License-backValuation & Deals

A license the seller of a patent receives from the buyer so it can keep making, selling, or servicing its own products after the sale.

M

Maintenance feeAdministration

A fee due at 3.5, 7.5, and 11.5 years after grant to keep a US utility patent in force. Design and plant patents have no maintenance fees (37 CFR 1.362). Our maintenance-fee calculator shows the dates for any grant date.

Market approachValuation & Deals

A valuation method based on prices paid in comparable patent sales or licenses. It depends on finding transactions that are truly comparable.

Micro entityAdministration

A USPTO fee status with an 80% discount on most fees, for small entities that also meet a gross income limit and a cap on earlier applications, or that qualify through a US institution of higher education. The income limit is updated each year (USPTO).

N

National phaseDocuments & Status

The stage when a PCT application enters individual countries or regional offices to be examined there. The deadline is generally 30 months from the priority date, and 31 months at some offices.

Non-disclosure agreement (NDA)Valuation & Deals

A contract in which the parties agree to keep shared information confidential and to use it only for a stated purpose.

Non-exclusive licenseValuation & Deals

A license that leaves the owner free to license the same patent to others, including the licensee’s competitors.

Non-patent literature (NPL)Search

Prior art that is not a patent document, such as journal papers, conference proceedings, theses, standards, product manuals, datasheets, catalogs, and archived web pages. Products and papers often appear before patents do, so NPL is where many close references turn up.

Nonprovisional applicationDocuments & Status

A regular US application that is examined and can become a patent. A utility nonprovisional includes a specification with claims, any drawings needed to understand the invention, and an inventor’s oath or declaration.

O

Office actionDocuments & Status

A written communication from a USPTO examiner that rejects or objects to claims or requires changes. The applicant, usually through a registered practitioner, replies within a set period that can be extended up to a 6-month statutory maximum.

Ornamental designDesign & Drawings

The visual appearance of an article, meaning its shape, configuration, or surface ornamentation, as distinct from how it works. Design patents protect appearance; utility patents protect function.

P

Patent agentAdministration

A person registered by the USPTO to prepare and prosecute patent applications who is not an attorney. Agents represent clients before the USPTO but cannot argue patent cases in court (USPTO).

Patent attorneyAdministration

A lawyer admitted to a state bar who is also registered to practice before the USPTO. Patent attorneys can prosecute applications, give legal opinions on questions such as validity, infringement, and freedom to operate, and represent clients in court.

Patent brokerValuation & Deals

An intermediary who markets patents to potential buyers or licensees and coordinates transactions, usually for a success fee. A broker works alongside, not in place of, the counsel who negotiates and documents the deal.

Patent familyDocuments & Status

All patent documents that share one or more priority claims, such as a US application, its foreign counterparts, and its continuations. Analysts count families rather than documents, so one invention isn’t counted many times.

Patent landscapeAnalytics

A structured map of patent activity in a technology: who files, where, when, and on what. It answers strategic questions, such as where competitors cluster and how a field is moving.

Patent monitoringAnalytics

Ongoing tracking of new publications, grants, status changes, and assignments for chosen technologies, competitors, or patents, usually delivered as alerts or digests.

Patent poolStandards

An arrangement in which several patent owners license their patents together, through one administrator and one license, usually for a standard. It spares implementers from negotiating with each owner separately.

Patent Public SearchSearch

The USPTO’s free web tool for searching US patents and published applications, with basic and advanced modes (USPTO).

Patent term adjustment (PTA)Documents & Status

Extra days of term the USPTO adds to a utility patent to offset certain examination delays, reduced for delays caused by the applicant (35 U.S.C. § 154(b)).

Patent thicketAnalytics

A dense web of overlapping patents, often held by several owners, around one product or technology. Thickets raise the cost of clearing a design and of licensing it.

Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB)Administration

The USPTO body that hears appeals from examiners’ rejections and decides post-grant challenges such as inter partes review.

PatentabilitySearch

Whether an invention meets the legal requirements for a patent, including eligible subject matter, utility, novelty, non-obviousness, and adequate written description (35 U.S.C. §§ 101, 102, 103, and 112). The patent office decides it during examination, and registered patent attorneys and agents give opinions on it. A search supplies references, not a decision.

PATENTSCOPESearch

WIPO’s free patent database. It gives full-text access to published PCT international applications from the day of publication, plus documents from many national and regional offices (WIPO).

PCT applicationDocuments & Status

An international application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, administered by WIPO. One filing keeps open the option to seek patents in many member countries, but there is no international patent: each country or region grants its own.

Portfolio pruningAnalytics

Reviewing a portfolio to decide which patents to keep, sell, license, or let lapse, usually timed to upcoming maintenance-fee and annuity deadlines.

Prior artSearch

Everything made available to the public before a given date that may bear on whether a claimed invention is new or obvious: patents, published applications, articles, products, talks, and web pages. Under US law the key date is generally the claim’s effective filing date, with a limited 1-year exception for certain disclosures by the inventor (35 U.S.C. § 102).

Priority dateSearch

The earliest filing date a patent application is entitled to claim, often from an earlier provisional or foreign application. It usually sets the cut-off date for a prior-art search.

Provisional applicationDocuments & Status

A lower-formality US filing that secures a filing date. It needs no claims, is not examined, and is automatically abandoned after 12 months. To keep its date, a nonprovisional application claiming its benefit must be filed within those 12 months (USPTO).

PublicationDocuments & Status

The release of a pending application to the public, generally about 18 months after the earliest filing date. Until then, applications are confidential, so no search can fully see the most recent 18 months of filings.

R

RecordationAdministration

Filing an assignment with the USPTO so it appears in the public record. An unrecorded assignment can be void against a later buyer who paid without notice of it, unless it is recorded within 3 months or before that later purchase (35 U.S.C. § 261).

Reference numeralDesign & Drawings

A number placed in a drawing to identify a part, matching the same number in the written description. US rules require reference numerals to be at least 1/8 inch (0.32 cm) high.

Relief-from-royalty methodValuation & Deals

An income-approach method that values a patent as the present value of the royalties its owner avoids paying because it owns, rather than licenses, the technology.

Remaining termAnalytics

The time left before a patent expires. It drives commercial value, because a patent near expiry gives a buyer or licensee fewer years of exclusivity.

RoyaltyValuation & Deals

A payment for rights under a license, often a percentage of sales or a fixed amount per unit, sometimes with upfront or minimum payments.

Royalty baseValuation & Deals

The quantity a royalty rate is applied to, such as net sales of a product, the price of a component, or units sold. The base matters as much as the rate.

S

Search reportSearch

A document listing the references found in a search and how each relates to the invention or its claims. Patent offices issue them during examination, and commercial search reports supply the same kind of evidence for review by a practitioner.

Semantic searchSearch

A search that ranks documents by similarity of meaning to a written description, using machine-learning language models instead of exact keywords. It widens recall, but a person still has to read and judge each result.

Small entityAdministration

A USPTO fee status for individuals, businesses with no more than 500 employees including affiliates, and nonprofits such as universities, as long as rights haven’t gone to a party that doesn’t qualify. It brings a 60% discount on most patent fees (USPTO).

SpecificationDocuments & Status

The written description of the invention, which must explain how to make and use it clearly enough for a skilled person to do so (35 U.S.C. § 112(a)). In US practice, the claims are part of the specification.

Standard-essential patent (SEP)Standards

A patent with at least one claim that cannot be avoided when implementing a technical standard, such as a Wi-Fi, cellular, or video-coding standard. Owners declare patents they believe may be essential; a declaration is not proof of essentiality.

Standards development organization (SDO)Standards

An organization, such as ETSI, IEEE, or ITU, that writes technical standards and sets intellectual-property policies for the companies that take part.

Success feeValuation & Deals

A fee paid to a broker or adviser only if a transaction closes, usually a percentage of the deal value. Its terms should be agreed in writing before any marketing begins.

SurchargeAdministration

The extra amount due for paying a maintenance fee during the grace period. Under the USPTO fee schedule effective January 19, 2025, it is $540 for large entities, $216 for small entities, and $108 for micro entities.

Surface shadingDesign & Drawings

Line shading that shows the contour and character of surfaces. It matters most in design patent drawings, where the drawings themselves define the claim.

T

Technology scoutingAnalytics

Systematic searching for outside technologies, startups, or university inventions that could solve a defined technical problem, often as candidates to license or partner with.

Terminal disclaimerDocuments & Status

A statement in which an owner gives up the part of a patent’s term that would extend past another patent’s expiration, usually to overcome a double-patenting rejection. It typically also requires the two patents to stay commonly owned to remain enforceable.

U

USPTOAdministration

The United States Patent and Trademark Office, the federal agency within the Department of Commerce that examines and grants US patents and registers trademarks.

Utility patentDocuments & Status

A patent for a new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or an improvement of one (35 U.S.C. § 101). It is the most common type of US patent.

V

ValidityDocuments & Status

Whether an issued patent’s claims meet the legal requirements for patentability. US patents are presumed valid (35 U.S.C. § 282), and challenges are decided by courts or the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Searches find references; conclusions belong to counsel and those tribunals.

W

WhitespaceAnalytics

Parts of a technology with comparatively little patent activity. Whitespace is a hypothesis to test: it may be open ground, or a sign that nobody wants to buy there.

WIPOAdministration

The World Intellectual Property Organization, the United Nations agency for intellectual property, based in Geneva. It administers the PCT system and the IPC (WIPO).

X

X, Y, and A referencesSearch

Category codes used in EPO and PCT search reports. X marks a document that is particularly relevant on its own, Y one that is particularly relevant in combination with another document, and A one that shows the general state of the art.

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