UPDATE: I’ve since refined the techniques described in this posting — see Patent applications: A cheaper, less-painful approach
The short version: Six slides
I’ve posted a PDF of a six-slide deck I did for a recent client presentation. It explains the approach I use to do inventor interviews for patent applications. In a nutshell, the inventor and I camp out in a conference room with my laptop (or we work remotely over a screen-sharing connection). We collaboratively draft actual claims and explanatory footnotes.
This approach has proved quite popular: Inventors like being able to provide real-time feedback. That way, they don’t later have to correct a lawyer “term paper” that’s likely full of gaps and misunderstandings.
In a pinch, we could complete and file the patent application in one day if necessary. Employers like that.
The more-detailed explanation
I also posted a longer deck. It goes into considerably more detail about the approach.
The published JPTOS paper
And here’s a paper I wrote some years ago on the same subject. It was published in the Journal of the Patent and Trademark Office Society.
The thumbs can’t be enlarged at the end of the slide.
@Joe, sorry, but I don’t understand what you’re saying here.