Disclosure Requirements For Software Patents

In patent law, it is the "claims" that defines the metes and bounds of an invention. In other words, claims define the scope of patent right. Claims are drafted such that it defines the boundaries of the invention with a purpose of providing clear notice of the claimed invention.

Patentees usually try to increase the scope of the claim by defining the claims with functional limits rather than structural limits. The claims that define functional limits in a patent specification are usually known as functional claim. Functional claiming is a common drafting technique used to describe the features by what it does rather than by what it is. Functional claiming is desirable since it covers all the materials, or acts for accomplishing a function by a specific means.