
9.18 Claim Construction
141
is is such an important concept for inventors to grasp that it deserves its own
text box:
Dependent claims can be used to dene a component more narrowly
in the independent claim in order to inoculate the independent claim
against a narrow interpretation of that component.
is type of dependent claiming oen uses the word “wherein” (as in claims 2
and 4 in the preceding list) and requires that the detailed description include
specic examples that support the added claim limitations. As a general rule,
inventors should err on the side of providing too many details about the innova-
tion and let the patent attorney decide ...