Ten hacks for leveraging illustrations to maximize the value of your patents

When it comes to patents and patent applications, a picture is indeed worth a thousand words.  A single high-quality drawing can allow an inventor to capture the essence of a complex idea in a simple, clear, and unambiguous manner.  However, some inventors and applicants find it time consuming, tedious, and expensive to have high quality drawings prepared when filing patent applications.  Patent practitioners are seldom equipped with the right tools and resources required for producing the best patent drawings.  Accordingly, patent drawings are often relegated to the last minute of the drafting and filing process with a tendency to either completely skip submitting drawings if not readily available, or to submit the available drawings “as is” without investing any additional time and effort.

Regardless of their budgets and/or experience with the patenting process, please see 10 tips that can help inventors, applicants and patent practitioners when preparing and submitting patent illustrations with their patent applications. The best practices highlighted should also allow applicants to maximize the value of their patents.