Last updated: August 17, 2026

What Should Be Included In a Specification?

IMPORTANT BEFORE SUBMITTING: According to CFR, it's missing: (4) The names of the parties to a joint research agreement. (6) Statement regarding prior disclosures by the inventor or a joint inventor.

The specification should have the following sections in the order listed below:

1. Title of the invention. The title should be as short and specific as possible (no more than 500 characters). It will appear as a heading on the first page of the specification if it does not otherwise appear at the beginning of the application.
2. Cross reference to related applications (if any). Related applications may be listed on an application data sheet, either instead of or together with being listed in the specification.
3. Statement of federally sponsored research/development (if any).
4. Reference to a ”Sequence Listing,” a table, or a computer program listing appendix. This may be submitted either through the USPTO’s electronic filing system or on an optical disc and must be incorporated by reference into the application. The name, date of creation, and size of each file should be specified.
5. Background of the invention. Include context surrounding the invention and how it addresses the problem as opposed to prior art. Limit focus on prior art.
6. Brief summary of the invention. The summary indicates the invention’s nature and substance and may include statements of objects of the claimed invention. This section should precede the detailed description.
7. Brief description of the several views of the drawing (if any). The detailed description shall refer to the different views by specifying the numbers of the figures and to the different parts by use of reference numerals.

8. Detailed description of the invention. The manner and process of making and using the invention should be explained in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms so as to enable any person skilled in the related arts of the invention to make and use it.

   The invention for which a patent is solicited must be specified in such a manner as to distinguish it from other inventions and from what is old. It must describe completely a specific embodiment of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, or improvement invented, and must explain the mode of operation or principle whenever applicable. The best mode contemplated by the inventor for carrying out the invention must also be set forth.

   In the case of an improvement, the specification must point out the exact part(s) of the process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter that is being improved, and should be confined only to the parts necessary for obtaining a complete understanding of said improvement.

9. A claim or claims. These claim(s) should distinctly point out and claim the subject matter that the applicant regards as the invention. This last portion of the application is important as it is the claims that define the scope of the protection afforded by the patent and of which questions of infringement are judged by the courts.
10. Abstract of the disclosure. This should be brief, consisting of a single paragraph of 150 words or less, and should include what is new in the art pertaining to the invention. It is placed under the heading “Abstract of the Disclosure,” and must be on a separate page preferably following the claims.
11. Sequence listing (if any).