NLPatent for Claim Drafting Workflows

While NLPatent is most commonly used for prior art searches, many practitioners have also integrated it into their claim drafting workflow. Whether drafting pseudo-claims to test the novelty space or refining language to improve scope, NLPatent can be a powerful tool for strengthening patent applications during the drafting phase.

Both video and written instructions are provided below.

Step 1: Conduct a Prior Art Search + Draft Initial Claims

Start with a standard prior art search to familiarize yourself with the relevant technology area. Based on this assessment, draft a few variations of claims — these can be early-stage or pseudo-claims that reflect the invention’s core features.

Paste these claims into the Natural Language Query field : either within an existing project or as a new query to begin an analysis.

Step 2: Analyze the Results

NLPatent will return a ranked list of relevant patents, giving you a snapshot of where your drafted claims fall in the current patent landscape. This offers a useful first-pass check on novelty and scope.

Use the Relevance Analysis feature to examine how closely the retrieved documents align with your query. This helps identify areas of overlap, as well as differentiating features, supporting better-informed decisions about whether your claims are too broad, too narrow, or in a competitive sweet spot.

Step 3: Refine and Explore Further

Based on your initial results, refine the claim language or focus on a specific feature to see if similar results are returned. If a particular aspect of the invention is novel or nuanced, the Ask NLPatent feature can be used to surface related technologies or concepts that might not be as visible through relevance analysis alone.

This can support more granular novelty assessments of key features and help guide claim strategy.

Step 4: Iterate as Needed

Claim drafting is rarely a one-and-done task. Use the insights from your prior searches and relevance analysis to adjust and rerun queries. NLPatent supports an iterative drafting process, allowing you to continuously improve the clarity, novelty, and defensibility of your claims.

Practitioners have found this workflow valuable for claim calibration, something that was difficult to do in real-time prior to tools like NLPatent. Integrating these steps into your drafting process can lead to stronger applications and better alignment with the existing prior art landscape.