PatentBrief
← Glossary/C

Continuation-in-part (CIP)

Definition

A type of continuationcontinuationA new patent application that claims priority to an earlier still-pending parent application.Read more → that adds new subject matter to the original specificationspecificationThe main body of the patent — describes the invention in detail. Used to interpret the claims.Read more →. The original claimsclaimsThe numbered statements at the end of a patent that legally define what the inventor owns.Read more → keep the parent's priority datepriority dateThe earliest date used to compare the patent against prior art. Usually equals the filing date.Read more →; the new material gets a new priority date. CIPs are commonly used when an inventorinventorThe person who actually conceived the invention. Listed on the patent regardless of who owns it.Read more → has improved or expanded an invention after the original filing. The different priority dates within a CIP can create complications during litigationlitigationA lawsuit over patent infringement. Litigated patents often signal commercial importance.Read more →.

Where this comes up

How to File a Patent

Related terms

Keep going

Cross-referenced

Continuation

A new patent application filed while a parent application is still pending, using the same specification but with different (usually narrower or broader) claims. Continuations allow inventors to pursue multiple rounds of claims from one original disclosure. Many technology companies maintain families of ten or more continuations from a single core invention, each covering a different aspect.

Cross-referenced

Inventor

The person (or persons) who conceived the claimed invention. Inventorship is a legal concept distinct from contribution to a project — someone who merely built what was designed, or who had a general idea that was made more specific by someone else, may not qualify as an inventor. Incorrectly listing inventors can invalidate a patent.

Cross-referenced

Priority date

The date that determines whether a piece of prior art counts against a patent application. In the US, the priority date is typically the filing date of the earliest application in a patent family to which the current application claims priority. Under the first-to-file system (post-AIA), the inventor with the earliest priority date wins if two people file on the same invention.

Cross-referenced

Specification

The written description portion of a patent application — everything except the claims. The specification must describe the invention in enough detail that someone skilled in the field could make and use it. It typically includes background of the invention, a summary, a description of the drawings, and a detailed description of at least one embodiment. Courts use the specification to interpret what claim terms mean.

Claim differentiation

A canon of claim construction: different claims are presumed to have different scope, so a limitation spelled out in a dependent claim is presumed to be absent from the broader independent claim it depends on. It is used to argue an independent claim should be read broadly.

Conception

The mental part of invention: forming a definite and permanent idea of the complete invention in enough detail that a skilled person could build it. Conception, paired with reduction to practice, determines who legally counts as an inventor.

See continuation-in-part (cip) in real patents:

Search PatentBrief →