Filing a patent can feel like trying to learn a new language. There are strange rules, weird forms, and so many dos and don’ts. If you’re building something new and powerful—a piece of software, a machine, a breakthrough in AI—you know it’s smart to protect it. But when it comes to actually doing that, the process can stop you in your tracks.
Why What You Include (and Leave Out) Matters
Your Patent Is a Business Asset, Not Just a Legal Document
Think of your patent like a startup pitch deck, but for your invention. It’s not just a filing. It’s proof that you own what you’ve built.
It’s also a tool you can use to raise money, land partnerships, or scare off copycats.
But here’s the key: it only works if it’s written with real business strategy in mind.
Many founders get this wrong because they treat a patent application like a formality. They just want to “check the box” and move on.
But if you’re building a business that’s based on real IP—real tech, real models, real engineering—you need your patent to hold weight in the real world, not just in the patent office.
That means being very intentional about what goes in and what stays out. You’re not just documenting an invention.
You’re shaping the way that invention will be recognized, defended, and valued in the market.
You’re Defining the Edges of What You Own
When you include something in your patent, you’re saying: “This is mine.”
And if it’s written well, no one else can legally take that from you. But the flip side is this: anything you leave vague—or leave out—can be used against you.
If a competitor finds a gap in your description, they might build around it.
If an investor looks at your patent and sees it’s too narrow or missing key parts, they might question how defensible your tech really is.
This can directly affect your ability to raise capital, sign deals, or build lasting moat.
So when you write your application, you need to think like a founder, not just an inventor. Ask yourself: if a competitor tried to replicate this, what would they change?
Then make sure you cover that. Ask: if I needed to enforce this in court, would the wording hold up? Then tighten it.
Ask: if someone on my team needed to build this without me, would they understand it? Then clarify it.
Don’t Patent the Obvious—Patent the Advantage
Here’s where a lot of applications fall short: they describe the product, but not the edge.
They explain what the invention is, but they don’t focus enough on what makes it better. And that’s a mistake.
The real value of your patent isn’t just that it describes a thing—it’s that it locks in your competitive advantage.
It’s your secret sauce, your smarter way of doing something, your unique structure or flow or logic. That’s what makes it hard to copy. And that’s what you want to highlight.
So dig deeper. Don’t just describe what your product does—explain how it does it better, faster, cheaper, or more securely.
And show how that improvement is baked into the invention itself, not just the brand or the way it’s marketed. That way, even if someone builds something similar, they still can’t use your core insight.
Include What You Can Prove, Leave Out What’s Just Hype
A good patent application feels grounded. It’s clear that the person writing it knows what they’re talking about—and can back it up.
That means your application should include things you’ve actually built, tested, or at least fully designed. Not ideas you’re just brainstorming.
You don’t need to have a finished product. But you do need to be able to clearly explain how it works and why.
That’s what makes your invention “enabled”—and if it’s not enabled, it can’t be patented.
If you include vague claims that sound good but don’t have any technical detail behind them, you open yourself up to rejection—or even invalidation later.
On the flip side, it’s just as risky to overshare. Some founders try to stuff their application with extra concepts or optional features, thinking it’ll give them more coverage.
But if those extras aren’t fully explained, they can be used to argue that your whole patent is unclear.
Worse, they might tip off competitors to other ideas you haven’t built yet—ideas they could try to claim before you do.
The best strategy is this: include the full picture of what you’ve built, plus any clear, well-thought-out variations.
Leave out the fluff, the dreams, the hype. That’s not playing it safe—that’s playing it smart.
Make Your Patent Hard to Work Around
One of the biggest goals of a strong patent is to make it as hard as possible for someone else to copy what you’ve done with small tweaks.
This is where what you include really matters.
You need to think ahead and imagine how someone might try to bypass your invention. What shortcuts could they take? What pieces could they swap out or rephrase?
Then you make sure your application accounts for those variations.
You don’t need to write a hundred versions of your invention—but you do need to write it broadly enough that small changes won’t help someone sneak past it.
This takes experience and some strategic thinking.
It’s not just about legal wording—it’s about understanding your market, your competitors, and your tech deeply enough to anticipate the moves others might make.
That’s what our team at PowerPatent helps founders do every day. We know what to include, how to describe it, and how to make it stick.
Start with the Problem You Solved
Every Great Invention Starts with a Real Problem
If you’re building something worth patenting, odds are it didn’t come from just a cool idea—it came from a real-world problem. Maybe it was a gap in the market. Maybe it was friction in a workflow.
Maybe it was a technical limitation that no one else had solved yet. Whatever it was, that problem is the origin story of your invention. And that’s exactly where your patent application should begin.
Not with jargon. Not with features. With the pain.
This isn’t just about storytelling. It’s about strategy. When you clearly explain the problem your invention solves, you set the stage for why your invention matters.
More importantly, you show how it’s different from everything that came before it.
This helps the patent examiner understand the need for your invention. It helps future investors, partners, or even acquirers see the value it delivers.
And it makes your patent stronger—because it links the technical solution to a real, undeniable challenge.
Describe the Problem in the Context of Your Industry
Here’s where many inventors miss an opportunity. They describe the problem in general terms—but they don’t connect it to the actual space they’re building in.
If your invention lives in a specialized field like AI, crypto, logistics, biotech, or robotics, the problem needs to be framed in that world.
Don’t say, “It was hard to manage data.” Say, “In modern AI pipelines, data versioning across distributed models created inconsistency that broke inference workflows.”
That kind of framing shows the examiner—and anyone else reading your patent—that you understand the space and the stakes.
This doesn’t mean you need to be overly technical. It just means your explanation should reflect the real conditions your product operates in.
You want the problem to feel urgent, relevant, and rooted in reality.
Use the Problem to Show What’s Missing in the Market
One of the smartest ways to use the “problem” section is to position your invention as the answer to a gap that no one else has filled.
Think of it like this: your competitors may have tried to solve the same thing—but they came up short. Your invention is what finally cracked it.
If your patent clearly outlines what others failed to do—and how your solution steps in—that’s a huge advantage.
It draws a bright line between the old way and your new way. And that helps show why your invention isn’t just new—it’s necessary.
This also comes into play when the examiner looks at “prior art,” or previous inventions.
If your problem is well-framed, you can show why earlier solutions didn’t cut it. That makes it easier to defend your patent’s novelty.
Think Like Your Customer, Not Just Your Engineer Brain
It’s easy to describe problems the way you see them as a builder.
But to make your patent hit harder, you want to describe the problem the way your user feels it. That’s where the emotional edge comes in.
What’s at stake if this problem doesn’t get solved? Lost time? Broken trust? Missed revenue? Compliance risk?
Even if your solution is deeply technical, the problem it solves usually affects something very real for your customer. Tap into that.
When your patent opens with a problem that feels high-stakes—not just high-tech—it commands attention.
It shows your invention has impact beyond just clever engineering. And that’s exactly what makes your patent more defensible and more valuable.
Make the Problem Easy to Recognize, but Hard to Ignore
You don’t want the problem to sound vague or abstract. You want it to feel specific and familiar.
Anyone working in your space should read your problem statement and say, “Yep, I’ve run into that too.” That kind of recognition builds credibility fast.
But then you take it one step further: you show how the problem is deeper than people realize. Maybe it causes silent failures.
Maybe it scales badly. Maybe it breaks things that no one notices until it’s too late. You want the reader to go from, “I’ve seen that,” to “Wow, I didn’t realize how serious it was.”
That’s when your invention really starts to matter. That’s when people start to see why you deserve a patent in the first place.
Use Plain Language, Not Fancy Talk
Simplicity Wins Every Time
When it comes to writing a patent application, simpler really is better. This isn’t just about making it easier to read.
It’s about making your invention more understandable, more credible, and more defensible. Using plain, direct language is a competitive advantage.
The patent examiner isn’t a startup founder.
They’re a government reviewer trained to evaluate inventions based on logic, clarity, and prior art. They need to know what you built, how it works, and why it’s new.
The faster they can figure that out, the smoother your application will go. If your description is buried in buzzwords, legal jargon, or vague language, you’re just slowing the whole thing down.
More importantly, vague language can lead to misinterpretation. You might think you’re making your patent broader and stronger—but if your wording isn’t clear, you risk creating loopholes.
That gives competitors an easy way to build around your invention or challenge your rights later.
Cut the Legalese, Keep the Logic
Many founders assume their patent needs to sound “official” or “technical” to be taken seriously. So they start using phrases they’ve seen in other patents or legal documents.
Things like “wherein said mechanism” or “plurality of components,” or worse—phrases that are meant to sound smart but say almost nothing.
This kind of language doesn’t make your patent stronger. It makes it harder to understand. And when it’s hard to understand, it’s hard to defend.
The better move is to describe your invention like you’re explaining it to someone smart but not inside your head.
Think about how you’d explain it to a technical advisor or product manager at your company—someone who knows how things work but hasn’t seen your code or touched your design files yet.
Clear thinking leads to clear writing. If your idea is strong, you don’t need to dress it up. You just need to explain it clearly enough that others see the logic in it.
Write to Be Understood by Strangers
You know your invention better than anyone. That’s a strength—but also a blind spot. You might assume certain things are obvious when they’re not.
You might skip over steps that feel small to you but are critical for someone else trying to follow along.
That’s why plain language is so important. It keeps your writing grounded in what a smart outsider can actually follow.
This is especially important when you think about who else reads your patent beyond the examiner. Investors read it. Partners read it. Potential acquirers read it. Even competitors read it.
These people aren’t trying to decode your invention—they’re trying to evaluate it. And the faster they can get what makes it smart, the better.
So ask yourself: if someone had never met me, never used my product, and never seen my code—but knew my industry—would they understand what this patent covers just by reading it once?
If the answer isn’t yes, simplify it.
Keep the Focus on What’s Real, Not What’s Fluffy
One danger of complicated language is that it can make you drift into vague territory.
You start saying things like “a novel architecture” or “a revolutionary interface” without actually explaining what’s different or how it works. That kind of language might fly in marketing—but in a patent, it’s a red flag.
Plain language forces you to be specific. If you say “data is processed,” explain how it’s processed. If you say “optimized,” explain what’s being improved and by how much.
You’re not writing to impress—you’re writing to protect. The more clearly you describe your system, the harder it is for someone else to copy it without stepping on your claims.
And that’s what you want. A patent that’s simple to read, hard to argue with, and impossible to work around.
Your Words Set the Boundaries of Your Rights
Here’s something most founders don’t realize: every word in your patent matters. Not just legally, but strategically.
The words you choose define exactly what you’re claiming as your invention. If your words are unclear, narrow, or inconsistent, your protection weakens.
That’s why writing in plain language isn’t just a style choice.
It’s a defense strategy. It helps you draw the edges of your invention clearly and confidently—so there’s no confusion about what you own.
At PowerPatent, we help founders strip away the noise and write patents that are both technical and crystal clear. Not just so they get approved—but so they stand up when it counts.
Describe What It Is, What It Does, and How It Works
The Core of Your Patent: Clarity Over Complexity
Once you’ve explained the problem your invention solves, the next step is describing the invention itself.
This is where a lot of founders get stuck. They either explain too little—because they’re afraid of giving away too much—or they go too deep and drown the reader in unnecessary detail.
The sweet spot is somewhere in between.
Think of this section like a product demo, but for someone who can’t see or touch your product.
You’re walking them through what the invention is, what it’s supposed to do, and how it actually does it.
But you’re doing it in a way that’s tight, focused, and grounded in facts. No hype. No fluff. Just a crystal-clear breakdown.
The goal is to give the patent examiner—and anyone else who reads your application—a full picture of your invention without losing them in the weeds.
And if you do it right, this section becomes the backbone of your patent protection.
Start with the “What It Is” in Business Terms
Before you dive into the tech, zoom out. What exactly is this thing you built? Is it a system, a method, a process, a physical device, a software workflow?
This is your foundation. Use language that reflects both its technical nature and its purpose.
When you define what your invention is, you set the tone for everything that follows. And more than that, you begin carving out the legal space you want to own.
For example, if you say your invention is a “modular payment routing framework for decentralized applications,” that’s already positioning it in a very specific way that competitors can’t easily repurpose.
By being precise about what the invention is, you tell the examiner: here’s what we’re trying to protect.
And you also make it easier to compare your solution to previous inventions—which helps prove that it’s new.
The “What It Does” Should Be Grounded in Outcomes
After you’ve defined what the invention is, shift gears and explain what it actually does. This isn’t a laundry list of features.
This is where you connect your invention to real-world results.
If your invention speeds up something, makes something safer, cuts down steps, or creates new functionality—say that.
And back it up with real explanations. Not just “it improves performance,” but “it reduces the number of memory fetches by batching prediction requests asynchronously, cutting latency by 30%.”
This matters because your patent’s value isn’t just in how it works—it’s in what it enables. That’s the business side of the invention.
And the better you can articulate that, the easier it is to defend the invention as something useful and necessary.
Remember, utility is one of the core requirements for a patent. So when you clearly describe what your invention does, you’re not just adding color—you’re helping prove that it meets the legal standard.
“How It Works” Should Be Precise and Repeatable
Now you get to the engine of your invention—the “how.” This part needs to be more than just surface-level.
You’re describing the exact mechanism or process behind your solution. And you’re doing it in a way that someone else in your field could actually follow.
This is what’s called “enablement” in patent law. You have to explain your invention well enough that someone else skilled in the field could recreate it without guesswork.
That doesn’t mean giving away trade secrets. It means showing that your invention is real, complete, and not just a sketch.
And if your invention includes multiple components or steps, walk through them logically. Show how the parts connect.
Explain the sequence. If there are alternate versions or ways it could be implemented, talk about those too—without overcomplicating the core explanation.
A well-written “how it works” section makes your invention undeniable. It removes ambiguity. And that makes your patent harder to challenge later.
Tie the Three Together into a Clear, Strategic Narrative
What your invention is, what it does, and how it works shouldn’t be three disconnected parts. They should flow together like a story.
You start with a clear identity. You show what it delivers. Then you pull back the curtain and show the mechanics.
When this flow is tight, it builds trust. The examiner sees that you know what you’re doing. The reader sees the logic in the invention.
And your claims—the most important part of your patent—rest on a solid, fully-explained foundation.
At PowerPatent, we help founders nail this structure every day. It’s not about padding the document. It’s about making every word count. Because in a patent, clarity isn’t just nice—it’s powerful.
Wrapping It Up
Filing a patent isn’t just about jumping through legal hoops. It’s about protecting the thing you’ve built—the code, the system, the method—that makes your startup different. And the best way to do that is by being clear, thoughtful, and strategic about what you include in your patent application…and what you don’t.
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