Clarity
According to the established case law of the EPO boards of appeal, the claims must be clear "in themselves when being read with the normal skills, but not including any knowledge derived from the description of the patent application ...". In other words, the wording of a claim must be clear in itself.
As mentioned above, a claim must define the matter for which the protection is sought in terms of the technical features of the invention. These technical features need not necessarily be structural however. They may be either structural (e.g. a nail, a rivet) or functional (e.g. fastening means).
The scope of the claims must also not be "broader than is justified by the extent of the description and also the contribution to the art". "his requirement reflects the general legal principle that the extent of the patent monopoly, as defined by the claims, should correspond to the technical contribution to the art in order for it to be supported, or justified."
Read more about this topic: Claims Under The European Patent Convention
Famous quotes containing the word clarity:
“Kipling, the grandson of a Methodist preacher, reveals the tin-pot evangelist with increasing clarity as youth and its ribaldries pass away and he falls back upon his fundamentals.”
—H.L. (Henry Lewis)
“If you do not remember while you are writing, it may seem confused to others but actually it is clear and eventually that clarity will be clear, that is what a master-piece is, but if you remember while you are writing it will seem clear at the time to any one but the clarity will go out of it that is what a master- piece is not.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)
“How to attain sufficient clarity of thought to meet the terrifying issues now facing us, before it is too late, is ... important. Of one thing I feel reasonably sure: we can’t stop to discuss whether the table has or hasn’t legs when the house is burning down over our heads. Nor do the classics per se seem to furnish the kind of education which fits people to cope with a fast-changing civilization.”
—Mary Barnett Gilson (1877–?)