Reading a patent
Patents and patent applications may appear very different and vary in quantity and quality. Therefore, it can be difficult to determine how to retrieve the necessary information from a patent. First and foremost, it is important to define the aim of your search as this may determine where in the document you should begin your search as well as which aspects you need to focus on. Most patents/patent applications are structured as follows: Aim of search
In most cases the aim of your search will probably be to determine if others are entitled to exclude you from doing something (infringement/defensive purposes, freedom to operate), or to determine to what extent an invention remain undisclosed and patentable (novelty/offensive purposes, patentability).
If your aim is to find out if you might be infringing another patent, you should look at the front page of the patent/patent application indicating if the patent has been issued or is just an application, and the date of filing determining the term of the patent. Then you should focus on the claims as these define the scope of protection of the patent. The claims are usually rather difficult to read. Thus the summary of the invention, the detailed description and the drawings should be used to interpret the claims. However, the scope of protection of the patent is determined by the claims only. Please note that the exact wording of the claims is often changed in patent applications. This is rarely the case if the patent has already been issued.
If your aim is determining patentability, the front page of the patent/patent application will reveal the date of publication and thus when the patent might impede or complicate the issuance of other patents. Next you should focus mainly on the detailed description and the drawings and also on the summary in order to determine what is described and thus not patentable by others, and what is not described and might still be patentable. The claims are often not relevant in the context of novelty.
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