Claim dependence references are included in the preamble we automatically generate as you draft your claims. We also allow you to include non-dependency references so you can mention other claims without indicating a dependency relationship. We make our best guess on which claim to reference and which type of reference is intended, but when you need to make changes, you can do so very easily.
This article covers the following topics:
Change Dependency References
Change Non-Dependency References
Change Reference Type with Dependency Toggle
Change Dependency References
Quickly Reuse Dependency References
If you have a claim with dependency set up the way you want, and you wish to reuse that reference in another claim, simply copy the dependency reference data object (highlighted gray) from your source and paste it where desired in your target claim.
Click for the Dependency Claim Selector
Click on the claim dependency reference you want to change.
Click on the options offered in the resulting popup control to select and deselect dependency. (Independent claims are indicated as circles for easy reference.)
To select a range of claims to depend from, click the first claim in the range, then, while pressing shift, click the last claim in the range.
Click anywhere outside the popup to close it. Your claim will now depend from the claim(s) selected in the picker.
Make Changes in the Claim Tree Tool
Click the Tools button in the toolbar and navigate to the Claim Tree tab if needed
OR Open the Claim Tree from the Tools menu.
Click the Parent Claims edit pencil or the Child Claims edit pencil that appear when you hover over a desired claim.
Use the dependency selector popup as above to change dependency for the desired claim.
Note that Parent Claims settings control where the highlighted claim depends from and Child Claims settings control which claims depend from the highlighted claim.
Change Non-Dependency References
Quickly Reuse Non-Dependency References
If you have a claim with set up with the non-dependency reference you want, and you wish to reuse that reference in another claim, simply copy the tagged reference data object (highlighted gray) from your source and paste it where desired in your target claim.
Click for the Non-Dependency Claim Selector
Click on the claim dependency reference you want to change.
Click on the options offered in the resulting popup control to select and deselect dependency. (Independent claims are indicated as circles for easy reference.)
To select a range of claims to depend from, click the first claim in the range, then, while pressing shift, click the last claim in the range.
Click anywhere outside the popup to close it. Your claim will now reference the claims selected in the picker, but will not be indicated as dependent upon them.
Change Reference Type with Dependency Toggle
Where Rowan Patents does not correctly anticipate the type of reference you wish to use, you may find that you have too many independent claims or too many dependent claims. Follow these steps to correct your reference types.
Change Independent Claims to Dependent Claims
Hover over or select the independent claim you wish to make dependent on the referenced claim(s) (i.e., change a non-dependency reference to a dependency reference).
Click the dependency toggle control shown to the lower-right of the selected/hovered over claim field.
Your claim will be dependent upon the claim(s) listed in the first claim reference found, allowing you to include both dependency and non-dependency references in one claim.
Note that the "IND" reference toggle appears with an asterisk where there is no tagged claim reference, and thus the claim must be an independent claim and cannot be toggled.
Change Dependent Claims to Independent Claims
Hover over or select the dependent claim you wish to make independent (i.e., change dependency references to non-dependency references).
Click the dependency toggle control shown to the lower-right of the selected/hovered over claim field.
Your claim will now be independent, and all tagged claim references will be considered non-dependency references.
