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Simple English definitions for legal terms
Jepson claim
Read a random definition: but so insane as not to be responsible
A quick definition of Jepson claim:
A Jepson claim is a type of patent claim that describes a new improvement to an existing invention. It starts with a statement about the current state of the art and then describes the improvement. Patent claims are formal statements that describe the unique features of an invention and define the scope of the patent's protection. They are important because they determine what the patent covers and what others can and cannot do with the invention.A more thorough explanation:
A Jepson claim is a type of patent claim that describes an improvement to an existing invention. It starts with a statement about the current state of the art, followed by the phrase "the improvement comprising" and a description of the claimed patentable improvement. The name comes from a case in which this type of claim was first approved and sanctioned by the Commissioner of Patents.
Let's say that there is an existing patent for a car that has four wheels. An inventor comes up with an improvement to the car that makes it more fuel-efficient. They could file a Jepson claim that starts with a statement about the existing car with four wheels and then describes the improvement of making it more fuel-efficient.