To effectively prevent others from filing invalidation during patent drafting, it is necessary to precisely layout around the core legal principles of patent invalidation and establish a full-process quality control system.

1. Deeply Understand the Core Review Standards for Patent Invalidation

Common grounds for patent invalidation focus on substantive defects and drafting compliance issues:

Defects in Three Essential Characteristics

• Novelty: The technical solution is completely covered by prior art before the filing date (such as published patent documents, technical papers, or products).

• Inventive Step: Compared with prior art, it lacks "non-obviousness", meaning that a person skilled in the art can implement it without creative labor.

• Utility: The technical solution cannot be implemented in industry or produce positive effects (such as schemes violating natural laws).

Drafting Flaws

• Insufficient Disclosure: The specification does not clearly and completely disclose the technical solution, making it impossible for others to implement.

• Claims Defects: Ambiguous protection scope (such as ambiguous terminology) or exceeding the scope of the specification (such as over-generalization or introducing new content).

2. Technical Screening and Risk Avoidance Before Application

1. Multi-dimensional Prior Art Search

• Use professional databases for comprehensive searching, screening not only patent documents but also non-patent disclosures (such as industry reports and exhibition materials).

• Analyze item-by-item whether prior art covers the core innovations of the invention through a technical feature comparison table to ensure novelty.

2. Preliminary Assessment of Inventive Step

• Adopt the patent examination "three-step method": determine the closest prior art; analyze the distinguishing features between the invention and prior art and the corresponding technical problems; judge whether prior art provides inspiration to solve the problem.

• Quantify and prove the "non-obviousness" of the invention through a technical problem-solution matrix to strengthen the claim of inventive step.

3. Refined Document Drafting

1. Clear and Accurate Claim Drafting

• Draft multiple independent claims covering different technical solutions, so that even if one claim is invalidated, others may still be valid.

• When selecting technical solutions, prioritize those with high inventive step and avoid overly simple or obvious improvements.

• Determine the protection scope to be broad enough to cover the core of the invention while avoiding being too broad and prone to invalidation. Consider patent layout strategies, such as filing patents in multiple countries or regions to expand protection and disperse risks.

2. Specifications Should Fully Disclose the Technical Solution

• Describe the technical effects of the invention in detail in the specification to support the claim of inventive step.

• Establish a complete chain of "problem-solution-effect":

• Technical Problem: Clearly point out specific defects in the prior art (supported by comparative documents);

• Technical Solution: Elaborate the implementation manners step by step, including preferred examples and alternative solutions, to ensure that a person skilled in the art can implement it;

• Technical Effect: Quantitatively prove the substantive improvements brought by the innovation through experimental data, chart comparisons, etc. (such as 30% efficiency improvement, 20% cost reduction).

• Balance trade secrets: Only disclose technical details necessary for patent implementation, and retain core processes as trade secrets.

4. Select a Professional Agency

Entrust teams with a composite background in technology and law to provide full-process services from innovation mining to document drafting and subsequent maintenance:

• Before Application: Avoid prior art barriers and optimize the innovation path through patentability assessment;

• During Drafting: Adopt a three-level review by "inventor-patent engineer-technical expert" to ensure precise alignment between technical expression and legal protection;

• After Authorization: Regularly monitor patent stability, establish an invalidation risk early warning model, and adjust claim strategies in a timely manner.

Through systematic control, it can not only reduce the risk of invalidation but also cultivate high-value patents with market competitiveness, building a lasting intellectual property moat for enterprises. If you have patent layout needs, please contact Fangyuan Jiahe to provide you with comprehensive services!