How to read a Patent

A patent ordinarily does not presume as much background knowledge on the reader's part as does a technical journal article. Each patent is an exposition of the problem addressed, the solution to the problem, and the opportunities seen by the inventor for the elaboration and practical use of his findings. The patent usually includes a statement of the field of technology, a discussion of the prior art, statements of the benefits of the inventor's discovery, a definition of the invention in technical terms, elaboration of the details of the invention, a description of its usefulness, working examples, and claims. How to interpret these elements in a patent document and how to get through to the technical information sought are the principal subjects of this paper. Also discussed are means for gaining access to patent literature for both current awareness and retrospective searching.