You may wonder how to name your invention and what rules the US Patent Office requires for the title.
How to title your patent might seem simple at first, but it really can be difficult. Like a book, you probably have the main idea for your story. When it comes down to naming your invention, this can be very challenging. While your patent attorney can help you choose the best title for your patent application, here are some guidelines to help you understand the process better.
Guidelines for naming your invention – the patent application title.
You probably want your title to be somewhat unique. This can help to market your product and excite your consumers.
In addition, you want the Patent Office Examiner to approve the title for your patent application. You want to make a good first impression because this will be one of the first things that the Examiner sees when looking at your patent application.
If the applicant does not use a satisfactory title, at the time of allowance for the patent application, the examiner may change the title by an examiner’s amendment.
What are the Patent Office requirements for the title?
The title should be descriptive of the invention to which the claims are directed. If the title is not considered descriptive, the Patent Office Examiner may require a new title.
The title must not exceed 500 characters in length and must be as short and as specific and descriptive as possible. The title should be one that is easily searchable using a few key words during a patent search.
The Examiner may require a change to the patent title that results in slightly longer titles. Typically, any loss to a brief title will be more than offset by the gain in its descriptive value in indexing, classifying, and searching.
Certain words such as “new,” “improved,” “improvement of,” and “improvement in” are not considered to add any value or adequately describe an invention. Therefore, these types of words should not be included in the title of the invention, and often will be required to be removed from the title before the Examiner will allow a patent to issue. Likewise, articles such as “a,” “an,” and “the” should not be included as the first words of the title.
The Patent Office also has restrictions on the type of characters that can be used in the patent title. Any character that cannot be captured and recorded in the Patent Office’s automated information systems may not be reflected in the US Patent Office records. Use the US PTO character checker to automatically check whether the characters in your patent title are valid.
Where should you include the title of your invention?
The patent title should be included on the Application Data Sheet (ADS), and should also appear as a heading on the first page of the specification of the patent application.
When applying for a patent, it is best to hire an attorney to guide you through the process, including helping you decide on a good and sufficient title to your patent. I hope this helped you understand the patent title.