After having started as a student intern at Baxter IP in 2007, I quickly realised that drafting a patent specification is more technical and nuanced than I had initially imagined. I had originally thought that surely an inventor would know his or her own invention well enough to draft a specification. However, the path to successfully obtaining patent protection is riddled with mines.
Not only is the format of the document very important to ensure that your application is not objected to on formalities, but so are the use or non-use of certain words that have been interpreted in various ways in IP law precedents that will either help expand or (even unintentionally) limit the scope of your patent application. The detail of the content of the specification with regards to the invention can be ensured by the inventor providing a brief to explain how the device works. Patent attorneys maintain prompt and responsive communication and cross-consultation and following completion of the draft specification, the inventor is invited to review, consult and amend it.
I have also noticed that it also helps to have a third party with a strong technical background in design and engineering, review your invention and identify ways in which a clever copier might try to make a similar product. Patent attorneys are trained to describe your invention in the broadest way possible and often come up with logically similar embodiments to include to your specification that adds significant value to your patent and prevents unscrupulous imitators from capitalising on your idea.
Patent attorneys mix engineering, law and lateral thinking to deliver a service that any inventor would consider a wise capital investment to their business strategy.
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