> > From: "Lisa M. Bronson (TCP)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: 2006/10/27 Fri AM 10:40:30 EDT > To: "Tom Johnson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > CC: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [TCP] Patent Disclosures > > Hi Tom, > > Our company applies for patents sometimes, but I've never been involved in > the process. It seems to me to be an excellent way to get "technical" in > your technical writing career, though. > > I found this article: > http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/matters/matters-9404.html > > Maybe it will be of help to you as you get started. > > Warm regards, > Lisa B. > > > > Good morning everyone, > > > > > > > > First, thank you to Lisa for getting this list up and running. Good job! > > I'm > > looking forward to seeing who comes aboard. > > > > > > > > I'm working on a patent disclosure for a piece of hardware along with the > > associated software. I'm new to this particular type of deliverable. Does > > anyone have any advice for me? My understanding is that the patent > > disclosure gives a patent attorney enough knowledge about the equipment so > > he or she can write up the patent application. I assuming I don't need to > > go > > into something like this byte moves from this buffer to this UART. I > > wonder > > if a Data Flow Diagram (DFD) would give the patent attorney a good > > understanding of how the thing works. So, my questions are: > > > > > > > > What level of detail? > > > > What presentation techniques/tools give the most bang for the buck? > > > > How do you avoid being so specific that a competitor can't add a little > > wrinkle and essentially steal your patent? Actually, that's probably the > > patent attorney's job when he writes the claims on the patent. > > > > > > > > Thanks for any insights.
Howdy. I'd look at this as a kind of overview for a non-technical audience. Granted that the patent attorney may know more about one field than another, still, he or she's probably no technical expert. A data-flow diagram would be excellent, because it's a visual summary of processes that would be mind-numbing in prose. So whatever tools / approaches that work for bridging the gap from a technical audience to a non-technical one would be the stuff I'd focus on. Best, ~Tarage _______________________________________________ Interested in Interactive 3D Documentation? Get the scoop at http://www.doc-u-motion.com Your 3D Documentation Community. _______________________________________________ Technical Communication Professionals To post a message to the list, send an email to [email protected] To find out more about the list, including archives and your account options, visit http://techcommpros.com/mailman/listinfo/tcp_techcommpros.com If you need assistance with the list, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
