Patent Titles

Titles of patent applications can be puzzling. Some titles are simple, some complicated, some precise, others vague. The most important consideration is that a title be descriptive of the invention. There once was a segment of practitioners that would purposefully title applications with vague or misleading titles, hoping that those patents wouldn’t be found by copycats. Of course, that hampers – somewhat – the ability of the application to be available as valuable prior art. It cuts both ways.

A title cannot be more than 500 characters. Please don’t pick a title that approaches anywhere near that length (the paragraph above is 504 characters). Keep it simple and descriptive of the invention to which claims are directed. If the Patent Office doesn’t like it, the Examiner will require a new title. Not a big deal, but it takes time and slows down the overall prosecution of your application.