A Primer On Patenting Ranges — All About "About"

In our previous Goodwin Insights post on "Patenting Ranges," we discussed how Life Sciences companies can successfully patent concentrations of a drug product in a clinical formulation, or patent doses of a drug product administered to a patient. Here, we discuss the significance of the word "about" in Patenting Ranges. 

WHAT ABOUT "ABOUT"?

The word "about" before a specific point in a range (e.g., a formulation comprising about 0.001% (w/w) of an excipient) in a patent's claim suggests that an inventor desired an average of the specific point that included a margin of error, or a range falling withing the word "about" as defined by the inventor in the patent. 

Inconsistent use of "about", e.g., if not used in a claim (e.g., a formulation comprising 0.001% (w/w) of an excipient) but used in the context of other ranges or specific points in other parts of the patent, could be suggestive that the inventor understood when to use and when not to use "about."