Thanks very much for the information. It's added to my very imperfect
and somewhat out of date knowledge of patent issues.

I've spent my share of time slogging through file wrappers to find out
what claims had been rejected and why, to determine weak points in a
patent and possible ways around it. Perhaps some of the readers of this
group have similar interests!

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

J. McLaughlin wrote:

Dear Roy:
You have wondered about what the interest might be in the
application.

As you have accurately indicated, applications do sometimes undergo
extreme modification before one or more patents issue. Only the claims
in the issued patent constitute the meets-and-bounds of what is
protected.

However, comparing an application to the issued patent (or patents)
can be very revealing of the PTO's view of the subject matter. Insight
so gained can be of great help with further patent applications dealing
with similar subject matter.

In the days when it was not easy to compare applications with issued
patents, I had a case where a claim in an issued patent appeared to
encompass all archery targets having the appearance of an animal.
Paying to get a copy of the proceedings led to the conclusion that what
was actually protected were animal looking targets using two densities
of plastic! -- I have abbreviated the case --

The short answer is that one can (sometimes) learn from examining
the before and after.

To follow-up on another of your cogent observations: Design patents
protect the esthetic appearance of a useful article (and thus might not
be eligible for copyright protection) and their numbers start with a
"D." Plant patents have numbers that start with a "P."

Warm regards, Mac N8TT
--
J. Mc Laughlin - Michigan USA
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