In a patent or patent application, the claims define in technical terms the extent, i.e. the scope, of the protection conferred by a patent, or the protection sought in a patent application. The claims particularly point out the subject matter which the inventor(s) regard as their invention. In other words, the purpose of the claims is to define which subject matter is protected by the patent (or sought to be protected by the patent application). This is termed as the "notice function" of a patent claim—to warn others of inventor rights and infringement liability. The claims are of paramount importance in both prosecution and litigation.
For instance, a claim could read:
"An apparatus for catching mice, said apparatus comprising a base, a spring member coupled to the base, and ..."
"A chemical composition for cleaning windows, said composition substantially consisting of 10–15% ammonia, ..."
"Method for computing future life expectancies, said method comprising gathering data including X, Y, Z, analyzing the data, comparing the analyzed data results..."
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