Terms are at the core of how Rowan Patents can save you time drafting and revising your application, as well as in drafting future applications in the same technical field. A term is a word or phrase key to your invention or technical field that you need to use consistently and adequately support, define, and illustrate. Words and phrases tagged as term data objects in Rowan Patents can be tracked and kept synchronized to ensure that you:

This may not mean what you think it means. Patent profanity or limiting language are words are phrases that might be commonly used in invention disclosures, white papers, marketing copy, and other text describing the disclosed subject matter, but should not appear in a patent application, such as "required," "can," "approximately," "of course," "invention," etc. You may already keep note of words you'll search for when reviewing your application drafts. Rowan Patents provides built-in, customizable profanity lists (and lets you add your own), which it then uses to check your application text as part of the review options we offer.

A part is a referenceable data object that allows you to uniquely identify and consistently refer to elements that represent or enable your novel concepts through use in your figures. A part has a unique part number (reference number) and a part name associated with it and can be illustrated in a figure by assigning it to a stencil.

A list of parts can be created and managed in the Parts Panel, found in the left-hand sidebar of the Drawing Tool. Parts can be created and deleted independently from stencils placed on the drawing canvas.

A figure part may also be referred to as a reference number, a reference number part, a figure reference number, a figure reference number part, a figure number, a figure number part, an overall part, a parent part, a figure-level part, a top-level part, an 00 part, a 100 part, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700,... etc. This is a part that may be used to reference as a whole the figure elements that make up the apparatus, system, method, or other concept being illustrated. The figure part may be identified in the Parts Panel, and by default will appear as an arc with an arrow pointing down and to the left of its part number.

A part reference is the text you include in your specification and claims to reference a part you've created in the Drawing Tool. It is a tagged data object that is shown with gray highlighting, and it will be kept consistent with any changes you make to the referenced part in the Drawing Tool. Part references can include the part name and number, or the part number alone. Plural and capitalized forms of the part name are automatically available for use in your part references.

A stencil is a drawing element, such as a shape, flowchart object, icon, or image, that can be placed on our drawing canvas, similar to any other drawing program (e.g., Visio, PowerPoint, etc.). A number of stencils are available in the Stencils Panel in the left-hand sidebar of the Drawing Tool. Stencils can be associated with parts or can be un-numbered, un-named figure elements. Stencils can be assigned text labels that are different from associated part names. Stencils can be dragged or stamped (repeatedly placed wherever you click) onto the drawing canvas from the Stencils Panel.

A connector is a linear object available in the "connectors" menu in the Stencils Panel that can be used to dynamically connect two stencils with a straight, angled, or curved line on the drawing canvas. Connectors have blue control points that determine where they start, end, and inflect along their length, and orange anchor points that determine how and where they connect to one or two stencils. They can only be selected by clicking directly on them; they will not be selected when multiple canvas objects are selected as a set.

How, then, is a line different from a connector? A line is one of the stencils available in the "Lines and Brackets" menu in the Stencils Panel. It is a simple image of a line and cannot be inflected or anchored to dynamically connect other stencils together. Their endpoints cannot be styled. They can, however, be multi-selected along with other stencils on the canvas, and can be made to appear as solid, dotted, or dashed.

R-Group is shorthand for "Markush Group", based on the format of many Markush group labels comprising an "R" with a unique alphanumeric or symbolic designator. "R-Group" is used to distinguish management and review interfaces designed to allow the addition, definition, editing, and deletion of Markush groups associated with the novel compounds being claimed. R-group data managed in Rowan includes the R-group name and the description(s) intended where that name is used.

A molecular drawing, also known as a chemical drawing or compound drawing, is a graphical representation of a chemical compound's structure, typically created using a program such as ChemDraw or BIOVIA Draw. Molecular drawings can be included as editable data or as simple images in Rowan Patents.

A compound is a chemical compound, a set of molecules and atoms connected in a novel and useful way. "Compound" is used to distinguish management and review interfaces designed to allow the addition, labeling, definition, editing, and deletion of the novel compounds being claimed. Compound data managed in Rowan includes an internal reference identifier, typically provided in a chemical database, a systematic name, a structure (molecular drawing), and a weight.

A sequence, also known as a macromolecule, is a connected string of amino acids, proteins, nucleotides, and/or simpler compounds. "Sequence" is used to distinguish management and review interfaces designed to allow the addition, labeling, definition, editing, and deletion of sequences being claimed. Sequence data managed in Rowan includes an autonumbered sequence ID, a nickname, a molecule type, and a qualifier molecule type.