Recipe: Claim Analysis
Extract a patent's claims with full context, then decompose them into elements.
Steps
Step 1: Extract Claims
flowleap --json ops claims <patent-number>
Done when you have the full claim set, independent claims identified.
Step 2: Get Context
flowleap --json ops abstract <patent-number>
flowleap --json ops biblio <patent-number>
flowleap --json ops description <patent-number>
Step 3: Check Related Patents
flowleap --json ops family <patent-number>
Step 4: Decompose Every Independent Claim — Yourself
There is no backend claim analyzer: you do the decomposition, one independent claim at a time.
- Split the claim into preamble, transition (
comprising/consisting of), and body. Element boundaries fall at the semicolons and atwherein/configured toclauses. - Keep the claim language verbatim per element — paraphrase in a second column if useful, but the verbatim text is what later maps against prior art. Tag each element structural or functional.
- Derive keywords and synonyms per element from the element's own nouns, checking the description (Step 2) for the applicant's own alternative wording — the specification is the claim's dictionary.
- Write a search query per key element combination with the self-written
query method in
flowleap-patent(extract terms, discriminating term, count probe). The element pairs, not single elements, usually carry the discrimination.
Repeat for every independent claim. For each dependent claim, note how it narrows its parent (the added element). Done when every independent claim has an element breakdown and each dependent claim's added limitation is recorded.
Output
Complete claim data with supporting context:
- Full claims text (independent and dependent)
- Abstract, bibliographic data, and description for interpretation
- Family members for jurisdiction coverage
- Element breakdown (verbatim language, structural/functional tag, keywords) and self-written follow-up search queries per independent claim, plus the narrowing limitation added by each dependent claim