Patent terms starting with C

49 terms

Cancellation of Claims Removal of claims from a patent application, usually by way of an amendment.
Cancelled Matter Matter that is removed from the specification or claims of a patent application.
CCPA See Court of Customs and Patent Appeals.
certificate of correction Issued upon patentee request due to a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or applicant minor error in the patent such as printing, typographical, or clerical…
CFR Code of Federal Regulations -- see MORE INFO
CIP Continuation-in-Part an application filed during the lifetime of an earlier nonprovisional application, repeating some substantial portion or all of the…
Citation 1. The written reference to legal authorities, precedents, reported cases, etc., in briefs or other legal documents. 2.
Claim Your request for the insurance company to pay you an amount under the terms of your policy.
claim(s) A claim is one of the numbered paragraphs that appear at the end of a patent and defines the scope of protection given to the owner of the patent (i.e.
Claim, Dependent A claim that refers back to and further limits or restricts the breadth of another claim.
Claim, Generic A claim that describes ("reads on") a generic form of an invention. A generic claim generally reads on all the claimed species of an invention. MPEP 806.
Claim, Independent A claim that does not reference (depend from) another claim. MPEP 608.01(i).
Claim, Jepson A form of a claim with a preamble that describes what is known in the art followed by a transitional phrase such as "the improvement comprising" and then…
Claim, Markush A form of a claim that allows claiming of members of a finite group by means of a phrase like "a member selected from the group consisting of" followed by…
Claim, Multiple Dependent A claim that refers back to and depends from more than one other claim. The other claims may be refered to in the alternative only. MPEP 608.01(n).
Claim, Picture A claim that sets forth an invention in great detail. Also called a Specific Claim.
Claim, Process A claim that recites the steps of a process. The process may be a method of making something, a process of operating something or a process of using…
Claim, Product A claim that recites the elements or features of a product (i.e., a machine, an article of manufacture or a composition of matter).
Claim, Species A claim that describes ("reads on") a species of an invention. A generic claim generally reads on all the claimed species of an invention. MPEP 806.04(d).
Claimed Invention The invention that the inventor(s) claim to have invented and for which he/she/they seek patent protection.
Classification patents are classified (organized) in the U.S. by a system using a 3 digit class and a 3 digit subclass to describe every similar grouping of patent art.
Colorable Deviation A small change (in a product or process) from what is claimed that is made soley for the purpose of avoiding literal infringement of the claim.
combining prior art Under Section 102 of the U.S. Patent Statute, a claim must be identically disclosed in a single prior-art reference in order to be rejected as being…
Completion of Invention Conception and reduction to practice of an invention. Also called "making an invention".
Composition of Matter An invention in which the substance and not the form or shape is the inventive subject matter. Under U.S. law, one of the statutory classes of inventions.
comprising (used when defining the scope of a claim) A transitional phrase that is synonymous with (means the same thing as) "including," "containing" or…
conception (kun-SEP-shun) In biology, the beginning of pregnancy, marked by fertilization of an egg by a sperm.
Consisting of a transitional phrase that is closed (only includes exactly what is stated) and excludes any element, step, or ingredient not specified in the claim.
constructive reduction to practice A reduction to practice involves physical verification of the operability of the invention or its suitability for its intended purpose. When one files a U.
Contemporaneously witnessed Observed or read and understood by a witness who is not one of the inventors at the time the event occurred.
continuation a second application for the same invention claimed in a prior nonprovisional application and filed before the first application becomes abandoned or…
Continuation Application See Application, Continuation.
Continuation-In-Part Application See Application, Continuation-In-Part.
contributory infringement Selling a part of a patented product or a material for use in practicing a patented process that is especially adapted for the patented product or…
Convention An official meeting of the delegates of a political party at which the delegates decide upon their party platform and take other party-related actions.
Convention Date See Priority Date.
Convention, EPC The European Patent Convention. An agreement among countries in Europe establishing a system of filing and examination of a single patent application in a…
Copending Application or Copendency A patent application that is pending (not abandoned or issued) at the same time another, related patent application is pending.
copying This generally refers to an infringer copying from a patented product, apparatus, composition, or process and may enhance evidence of infringement.
copyright The 1976 Copyright Act permits the owner of a copyright to prevent others from reproducing, displaying, performing, or distributing ideas expressed in a…
Corresponding Foreign Application An international patent application or a regional or national patent application or inventor's certificate filed in a country other than the U.S.
Corroboration Evidence provided by other than an inventor that shows that an important event occurred when the inventor said it did. MPEP 2138.01.
Count An indictment may contain allegations that the defendant has committed more than one crime. Each allegation must be listed separately.
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC or Fed. Cir.) A U.S. court to which an applicant for patent can appeal a decision of the USPTO Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences. MPEP 1216.
Court of Customs and Patent Appeals (CCPA) The historical court that reviewed USPTO decisions and decided customs cases, that was replaced by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
critical date This refers to the date of the initial placing on sale, publication, or public or commercial use of an invention. At the end of the one-year period, a U.S.
Cross License A license between two patent owners wherein each licenses its patent(s) to the other.
cross reference A reference (issued patent) in another class or subclass, or a reference made in a later-filed patent application to a related, earlier-filed application.
crowded art This refers to an area of technology in which there have been a large number of prior inventions.