I'm no legal expert, but have had a fair amt of experience with patents and patent attorneys... and am on several myself. The 'Claims' primarily define what's enforceable... i.e., they form the legal basis for an infringement case. The 'ancillary text' serves several purposes, and is to some extent, legally important as well. The whole thing about how a patent should be 'enabling'; i.e., should be descriptive enough to 'teach' someone 'skilled in the art' to make your invention, is in the "Detailed Explanation" section of the patent. If there really isn't enough 'enabling' information, then the patent could be ruled as invalid. In responses to the Patent Examiner during the approval process, this 'ancillary text' does indeed come into play. In addition, that material also serves to document other discoveries/knowledge that, at the time of filing the patent application, you didn't want to incorporate into the Claims. Thus, you CANNOT use that material as a basis of an infringement suit, but you can refer to it in subsequent patent applications.
-Mark _____ From: Hoyt A. Stearns Jr. [mailto:hoyt.stea...@gmail.com] Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2011 8:15 AM To: vortex-l@eskimo.com Subject: RE: [Vo]:Rossi bets the farm on Ni62? As I understand it, in the US anyway, the "Claims" are the important part of a patent. The ancillary text doesn't count.
