Patent It Yourself - PDF Archive

ChaPter 10 | FINALING and MAILING Your APPLICATION | 257
• formal drawings (generally CAD drawings or other
computer-created drawings or xerographic copies of
ink drawings done with instruments on Bristol board
or Mylar film and in accordance with all the rules), or
• informal drawings (generally xerographic copies of
good pencil or ink sketches, which include all the
details of the invention).
Further, in each case the drawings can be filed in either:
• the U.S. letter size (8½" x 11"), or
• the A4 international size (210 mm x 297 mm or (8¼" x
11 1 /16").
Should you submit formal or informal drawings? I
strongly recommend that, if at all possible, you submit
formal drawings. However, if cost and time are important
considerations, you can file informal drawings. If you do, the
PTO usually will require you to file formal drawings before
they will examine your application. If they neglect to object
to the informal drawings after filing, they will do so when
the application is allowed (see Chapter 13, Section I). At that
time you will have to pay an issue fee and file any required
corrected drawings within three months. Also, if you want to
file abroad, you’ll have to prepare formal drawings on A4 size
paper approximately 11 months after filing.
As far as the choice of the U.S. or international sizes
is concerned, if you have ink drawings and have any
serious thoughts about filing abroad, it’s better to use
the international (A4) size, since you can make good
photocopies, file these for your U.S. application, and
later use the originals (or another good set of copies) for
the international application. (I discuss foreign filing in
Chapter 12.) If you do make paper drawings in the U.S. size
and later decide to foreign file, you can still make A4 copies
by using a scanner, photocopier, or a patent drawing service
in the Arlington, or Alexandria, Virginia, area (about $20 a
sheet).
If necessary to illustrate the invention properly—that is,
if color is an essential part of the invention—color photos
or color drawings may also be used. File three sets of color
photos or drawings in one of the two permitted sizes with:
1. a petition explaining why color is necessary; use
the format of the petition of Fig. 10U (Form 10-9
in Appendix 7) but change the title. For example,
write “Petition Explaining Why Color Is Necessary”
and change the body of the form to provide an
explanation
2. the petition fee (see Appendix 4, Fee Schedule), and
3. a statement in the specification just below the title
reading as follows: “The file of this patent contains
at least one color drawing. Copies of the patent with
color drawings will be provided by the PTO upon
payment of necessary fee.”
Black and white photos may no longer be used for patent
drawings, unless necessary to illustrate the invention,
for example, to show a photomicrograph of a composite
material. File one set of black and white photos in one of the
two permitted sizes on double-weight photographic paper
or mounted on Bristol board. You must also file a petition
explaining why black and white photos are necessary. No
fee is needed.
All photos must be of sufficient quality that all details
can be reproduced in the printed patent and the photos
must illustrate all features of the invention, just as ink or
CAD drawings must do.
B. PTO Rules for Drawings
The PTO has a number of rules for preparing formal drawings.
Even if you plan to submit informal drawings, the rules
should be followed as much as possible so that much of the
work will already be done when you later need to submit
formal drawings. For step-by-step instructions and examples
on how to implement these rules, see How to Make Patent
Drawings, by Jack Lo and David Pressman (Nolo).
When your drawings arrive at the PTO, whether with
your application or after allowance, your drawings are
inspected by the PTO’s drawing inspectors. If they find that
any of your drawings are informal or in violation of any
of the above rules, they will fill out and insert a drawing
objection sheet in your file. A copy of this (shown in Fig.
10A) will be sent to you before or with your first Office
Action or after allowance. (See Chapter 13.) You must
correct the drawings before the patent will be examined
or before a patent can issue; the drawings are “corrected”
by substituting new drawings. Thus, you should keep the
originals of your drawings and send in good copies. Then
if you have to correct the drawings, you can correct your
originals and then send in new copies.
The most common drawing defects are listed on the
drawing inspector’s sheet (Fig. 10A). These and other
frequently encountered defects are as follows:
• Lines are pale.
• Paper is poor.
• Numerals are poor.
• Lines are rough, blurred, or matrixy (zig-zag).
• Copier marks are on the drawing.
• Shade lines are required.
• Figures must be numbered.
• Heading space is required.
• Figures must not be connected.
• Crisscross or double line-hatching is objectionable.
• Arrowheads are used on lead lines for individual parts.