The Concept of Novel Compositions of Matter: A Theoretical Analysis

Abstract

Here is discussed in the manner of a review the nature and uses of information measures in the discipline of patenting. From one perspective, the information content in a patent diminishes rapidly as the broadness of the claims increases. Claims made by Markush representations facilitate the quantification of that. The equations will approach yielding zero information if a massive number of chemical themes were implied. Importantly, a more detailed examination of these equations have implications that allow discussion of various aspects of novelty, reasonable consistency with a specific purpose, and perhaps even how many arguments and counterarguments there should be between examiner and assignee.