About claims X - 37 CFR 1.75

37 CFR §1.75 有一些有關Claim(s) 的寫作規定，我嘗試翻譯與說明

a)The specification must conclude with a claim particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention or discovery.
這是規範說明書要能終結於申請專利範圍，範圍則能清楚指出申請人所欲關注的發明或發現
當然主要是要求說明能具體且確實地揭露發明內容，並且Claim能忠實反應該發明

(b)More than one claim may be presented provided they differ substantially from each other and are not unduly multiplied.
這是規範申請專利範圍，可以包括一個以上的範圍，各範圍間要有實質上的差異，數量不要無限度地多
主要是說申請專利範圍可以多項，並且各項的實質範圍不能重複，數量來說，只要符合上述彼此之間不要重複的原則，應該沒有限制，100項以上的美國專利不會少，台灣是不合理地沒有限制項次，各國通常都有一定數量的限制，超過的都會增加費用，這不僅可以限制權利無理擴張，也可以確保審查品質，審查中可以充分考慮各項範圍

(c)One or more claims may be presented in dependent form, referring back to and further limiting another claim or claims in the same application. Any dependent claim which refers to more than one other claim ("multiple dependent claim") shall refer to such other claims in the alternative only. A multiple dependent claim shall not serve as a basis for any other multiple dependent claim. For fee calculation purposes under § 1.16, a multiple dependent claim will be considered to be that number of claims to which direct reference is made therein. For fee calculation purposes also, any claim depending from a multiple dependent claim will be considered to be that number of claims to which direct reference is made in that multiple dependent claim. In addition to the other filing fees, any original application which is filed with, or is amended to include, multiple dependent claims must have paid therein the fee set forth in § 1.16(j). Claims in dependent form shall be construed to include all the limitations of the claim incorporated by reference into the dependent claim. A multiple dependent claim shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of each of the particular claims in relation to which it is being considered.
這是規範可以有多個附屬項與多項附屬項(multiple dependent claim)，並依附於前項範圍，可以多項附屬項呈現，但多項附屬項之間不能相互依附，多項附屬項的解釋是以實際依附狀況而定，費用也是以各實際分別的附屬項來看待，甚至比分開的附屬項更多
一般並不建議使用多項附屬項，因為除了有些情況可以幫助解讀範圍，事實上並無實際意義，美國、台灣在這些規定還算清楚、合理，但是歐洲的一些主要國家在申請專利範圍則是可以無限度地使用多項附屬項，甚至可以依附該項前的所有每一個範圍，如使用"depending on any of preceding claims..."，我曾問過代理人，如果因為這樣的依附會產生邏輯上的問題，或是不合理依附，甚至產生說明書沒有的態樣怎麼辦? 我得到的答案是，解釋範圍時會自動排除 （這點待確認）

(d)(1) The claim or claims must conform to the invention as set forth in the remainder of the specification and the terms and phrases used in the claims must find clear support or antecedent basis in the description so that the meaning of the terms in the claims may be ascertainable by reference to the description. (See § 1.58(a).)
申請專利範圍應該是與發明符合，並能與說明書內容相互清楚地支撐，有前述基礎(antecedent basis)，範圍的解釋應要參考說明書內容
主要是要求說明書與申請專利範圍彼此支持的原則

(2)See § 1.141 to 1.146 as to claiming different inventions in one application.
此段是交代§ 1.141 to 1.146規定單一性的問題

(e)Where the nature of the case admits, as in the case of an improvement, any independent claim should contain in the following order:

(1)A preamble comprising a general description of all the elements or steps of the claimed combination which are conventional or known,
(2)a phrase such as "wherein the improvement comprises," and
(3)those elements, steps and/or relationships which constitute that portion of the claimed combination which the applicant considers as the new or improved portion.

這裡規範"兩段式"申請專利範圍獨立項的結構，前言包括習知技術的元件，轉接詞可用"wherein the improvement comprises"，接著主體部分則是揭露該發明的特徵，包括改良的部分，新的部分等
另一種轉接詞的寫法是"characterized in that..."

(f)If there are several claims, they shall be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals.
申請專利範圍獨立項應以阿拉伯數字循序標示

(g)The least restrictive claim should be presented as claim number 1, and all dependent claims should be grouped together with the claim or claims to which they refer to the extent practicable.
限制最少的為一獨立項，標示1，其附屬項應該群組化，與另一獨立項與其附屬項區分
實務上，附屬項向前依附，要依附最近的附屬項或主要項，不要跳過一個獨立項而去依附更前的項次

(h)The claim or claims must commence on a separate physical sheet or electronic page. Any sheet including a claim or portion of a claim may not contain any other parts of the application or other material.
這裡只是說送件的文件中，申請專利範圍應以分開的頁面撰寫

(i)Where a claim sets forth a plurality of elements or steps, each element or step of the claim should be separated by a line indentation. (updated 9.15.2010 line indentation：縮排)
這裡是建議各項中的各元件以分行的方式撰寫，要斷句、縮排，以方便閱讀
實務上，各項中的各元件與其說明可以分號(;)區分，有些案子就沒有斷句，還是可以清楚表達，各元件斷行是一般做法就是了

Ron