Why You Should Include ‘Marketing Language’ in Your Patent Application

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Introduction

In the world of patents, most advice focuses on claims, enablement, and prior art searches. We hear about how carefully we must draft every line so as not to accidentally limit the scope of our invention, or about how best to respond to office actions from the patent examiner. But there’s another aspect to the process that’s often overlooked: the power of language and accessible explanations of commercial value within the patent application itself.

In a recent video from Innovation Café, I shared the idea that you should explain—within the four corners of the patent document—why your invention is valuable. Not just how it works, but why someone would want to license it, how it might improve lives, and what problems it solves in a meaningful way.

This post delves deeper into that point, unpacking the many reasons why such language can be so powerful, how to incorporate it without risking the legal strength of your patent, and what common pitfalls to avoid. We’ll also explore the delicate balance between marketing your invention and inadvertently limiting or invalidating the patent claims.

1. The Role of Marketing Language in a Patent

When patent lawyers write a patent application, they normally focus almost exclusively on:

  1. Claims: Defining the legal boundary of the invention.
  2. Specification/Enablement: Explaining how to make and use the invention in sufficient detail.
  3. Drawings: Illustrating the embodiments, if necessary.

All of these are crucial—the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has strict requirements. Yet, as I mentioned in the video, including language that highlights the invention’s commercial or societal value can significantly benefit you down the road.

Why This Matters

  • Licensees and Buyers: Often, the patent document itself is passed around within a potential licensee or purchaser’s organization. These decision-makers—product managers, business development teams, or in-house counsel—may not have time to sit on a call with you for hours.
  • Standing Out: A patent that only recites technical minutiae can come across as dry and uninteresting. Indeed, it is not uncommon for executive to find themselves unable to understand highly technical patent contents. But if it also includes a clear, concise statement of why this invention matters, that can capture attention.
  • Universal Accessibility: Once your patent is published, anyone can read it. If it clearly articulates the problem you’re solving and the benefits, it can spark immediate interest in ways that purely technical documents might not. This also serves the original purpose of patents: In exchange for explaining how to practice the invention, the inventor gets a time-limited monopoly. By explaining the commercial value or uses of the invention in clear, compelling, “marketing-style” language, your patent is more likely to be found by other innovators and thereby teach others your discovery.

2. How Marketing Language Can Protect You from “Self-Sabotage”

A lesser-known advantage of adding marketing or user-focused explanations inside the patent is that it lessens your incentive to make risky claims about your invention in interviews, depositions, or public statements. Why is this so important?

  1. Off-the-Cuff Comments Can Harm Patent Validity
    • Imagine you’re interviewed at a tradeshow or giving a press interview and you casually say, “Oh, the invention was obvious—anybody could have done it!” A single slip-up like that can be seized upon by infringers or opposing counsel in litigation to argue your patent is “obvious” under 35 U.S.C. § 103. Did I “can be”? Yeh, about that: If you litigate your patent and demand more than a few dollars, it will be used to try to invalidate the patent. The fact is that every inventor thinks every invention is obvious at the moment of invention. That is, it is obvious to us at the moment we invent it. It is easy to misinterpret obviousness to us, in light of our creative skills and insights as applied to that particular problem as meaning it is obvious to others. This can lead to the risk and error described above.
  2. Overbroad or Inaccurate Statements
    • Alternatively, you might tell a potential customer, “This patent covers all implementations of X technology!” That could inadvertently change your claim scope. Or, if the “implementation” you reference was already publicly used before your filing date, that statement may be used to claim the patent is invalid. This might be too abstract, so let’s use a specific but obviously fictional example: I get a patent for an alloy using small amounts of Kryptonite combined with stainless steel for use in a scalpel to cut through Superman’s skin during surgery. I make the claims broad so that they cover other similar uses, like a hypodermic needle. The claim might read “An alloy comprising 0.01% to 3.00% kryptonite combined with other metals to allow performance of medical procedures on people sensitive to Kryptonite”. If I then go around and say “I’ve got a patent that makes me the only person who can make bullets that go through Superman”, and Lex Luthor had previously made such bullets (prior to my patent filing date), I’ve just created a nightmare for litigation. If the inventor thinks that kryptonite alloy bullets and scalpels are the same thing for purposes of the patent claim — and we have to assume an inventor is a person having ordinary skill in the art — I’ve just handed infringers an argument they didn’t have to argue obviousness.
  3. Avoiding Conflicts with Your Claim Scope
    • If your patent states, “One embodiment is a gorilla-themed coffee mug for comedic effect,” but in an interview you say, “Actually, we never intended it to apply to humorous designs,” you’re creating confusion about the scope. During litigation, any contradictory statements—particularly from the inventor—can be used to limit the claims or even support invalidating them.

By embedding a well-thought-out explanation of your invention’s benefits and potential uses within the patent, you won’t feel as strong a need to “sell” it or hype it up informally. The patent itself becomes your official statement of the invention’s value. Obviously, it is not foolproof — for example, if the language in the patent application includes “this invention can be used in all implementations of X” but the claim language says “the invention is used in implementation Y to accomplish X”, saying that the language “this invention can be used in all implementations of X” summarizes the claim would be inaccurate and could lead to trouble.

Finally, remember that your patent is likely to make the trip to the C-Suite alone. If you’ve sued a big company, tried to license to a big company, or want to sell to a big company, you aren’t likely to be there to explain to the Board of Directors why they should approve a deal — but the patent itself will be there. The patent should literally help sell itself. Remember that the patent will be read by a judge and jury if you ever litigate it, so it shouldn’t be 100 pages of dry, boring, technical language. It should get others as excited about your invention as you are — in language that everybody can understand.

3. Practical Tips for Adding Marketing Language

So how do you strike a balance between the mandatory technical disclosures and a more accessible, persuasive description?

  1. Place It in the Background or Field of the Invention
    • Patents often start with sections like “Background” or “Field of the Invention.” While these aren’t always strictly required, they’re common. This is a good spot to outline the problem your invention solves and why people should care. And don’t use hyper technical language. Compare these ways of saying the same thing:
      “A persistent issue with light-controlled intersections is that they do not flexibly change their timing to match existing flow rates, and even the sub-surface magnetic sensors do not resolve the issue as they are insufficiently sensitive to vehicles bearing an insufficient amount of ferromagnetic or like materials”.
      “We’ve all been there: We’re sitting at a light in a long row of cars, while it remains green the other way for minutes with nobody going through the intersection. This is a huge waste of time, and impacts everybody using that light. It would be a huge improvement to quality of life if lights changed based on actual traffic flow at that moment. Relying on sensors located under the concrete is a longstanding half-measure: Small cars don’t even set off the sensor, and if cars stop in places that don’t have a sensor under them, the sensors are useless. This set of inventions fixes that problem.”
  2. Use “Contextual” Language
    • You might say: “In many situations, users struggle with X because of Y. The present invention provides a more efficient solution by offering Z, which can lead to cost savings and improved user experiences.”
    • This approach highlights real-world impact without straying into unprovable “puffery.” (Embarrassing lawyer-nerd stuff: “puffery” is a legal term for non-actionable exaggerations).
  3. Discuss Potential Applications and Benefits
    • After detailing your technical steps, consider adding a paragraph or two describing practical applications. For example:
      “By integrating this solution into an existing web environment, website owners can enjoy increased data throughput while maintaining user privacy. This not only fosters better user retention but also opens opportunities for new monetization models.”
    • This invites a business-minded reader to imagine your invention in their own product line.
  4. Avoid Over-Promising
    • Your patent should never contain misleading or false claims about the technology. In fact, your patent should never contain anything false or misleading (although at the cutting edge of technology, what seems clearly false or misleading 20 years post-filing might be valid speculation or prediction at the time of filing).
    • There is an interesting twist here: Patent examiners are not supposed to issue patents on things that don’t have utility, but they are incentivized to give office actions and rejections or allowances. If it is clear to the examiner that the invention won’t ever be infringed, whether because it doesn’t work or nobody would be dumb enough to use it, it is a no-harm situation if the examiner issues the patent. Most examiners follow the rules, but the more remote the chances that the patent will ever have value, the less likely they are to be criticized for allowing it.
  5. Stay Aligned with Core Patent Requirements
    • Remember, your patent must meet enablement, written description, and best mode requirements. The additional marketing language is supplemental. It shouldn’t replace or distract from the details that actually secure your claims.

4. Caveats and Pitfalls to Avoid

While the strategy of incorporating marketing language is powerful, it comes with some risks if you’re not careful.

  1. Unintended Disclaimers
    • Watch how you phrase your statements of advantage. Saying, “The invention only works for 3D-printed mugs” might inadvertently disclaim other manufacturing processes. Instead, use broader language like, “While particularly suited for 3D-printed mugs, the invention can also apply to any similarly fabricated items.” Basically, avoid patent profanity.
  2. Statements of Obviousness or Prior Art
    • Never say phrases like, “In the existing market, everyone is basically doing this already,” or “This approach was never patented, but it’s widely known.” Such admissions can undermine your novelty or non-obviousness arguments.
  3. Over-Stating Utility
    • The USPTO does require that you disclose a credible utility for your invention, but excessive or unfounded hype could be used against you in litigation. If you label your invention as “the cure for every problem under the sun,” an opposing party might question your credibility or suggest you made false representations.

5. How This Language Helps in Licensing

When you pitch your invention to a bigger company or a potential licensee, you often can’t accompany the patent wherever it goes. Executives, technical reviewers, and in-house counsel might pass your patent around internally, referencing only the official document and a short internal memo. Here’s how well-crafted marketing language helps:

  1. Immediate Clarity
    • A succinct paragraph or two on why the technology is a game-changer can help non-technical stakeholders quickly grasp the invention’s purpose.
  2. Persuasion Without Personal Risk
    • Since those persuasive statements are inside the patent, you’re not personally making new claims every time you talk to a prospective licensee. You can refer them to the patent text, which is already a matter of public record.
  3. Speeds Up Negotiation
    • Potential partners won’t have to keep calling or emailing for clarification about “what’s so special here?” It’s all spelled out in the patent’s background and summary sections.
  4. Establishes a Narrative
    • Rather than letting an infringer or competitor define what your invention is, you set the tone. You decide how it should be viewed—as a problem-solving, efficiency-driving, user-friendly innovation—from day one.

6. Real-Life Example: The Gorilla-Themed Mug (Hypothetical, though I do love gorillas)

Let’s say you invented a gorilla-themed coffee mug with a novel handle design and comedic effect. Normally, you’d just describe the shape, function, materials—very dry. But if you add a short “marketing” section:

  1. Background:
    • “Conventional coffee mugs often sacrifice user comfort for whimsical design. Customers frequently desire a fun, memorable mug that is also ergonomically sound. The present invention addresses this desire by incorporating a gorilla-themed shape that not only entertains the user but also provides superior grip for various hand sizes.”
  2. Why People Want It:
    • “Such a playful-yet-practical design appeals to theme park souvenir shops, novelty item collectors, and eco-conscious consumers looking for durable, conversation-starting tableware. By infusing the handle with a broader base and tactile gorilla-texture, users can experience both comfort and brand recall.”
  3. Licensing Appeal:
    • “Retailers and gift shop operators may license this design to offer unique, profitable merchandise, while manufacturers can adapt the structural features to meet mass-production needs without compromising the distinctive visual impact.”

Suddenly, an everyday mug concept starts sounding valuable and licensable—even if that particular industry is niche. No new disclaimers are introduced, but you’ve established a compelling story about why your design matters.

Conclusion

Patents are inherently technical documents, but they don’t have to read like emotionless engineering textbooks. By weaving in marketing language—the practical benefits, real-world applications, and reasons potential buyers or licensees would care—you give your patent a life beyond the cold legal text. It’s an invaluable strategy for any inventor hoping not just to secure a patent, but also to profit from it.

Let’s make this even simpler: People like to read plain, accessible writing. You should make as much of your patent application plain and accessible — but it is particularly important to include enough such language that non-experts can understand why your invention is something they want.

Moreover, embedding this language reduces your need to make informal statements, which can inadvertently create disclaimers or confusion that undermine your patent’s strength. By letting the document speak for itself, you remain consistent, persuasive, and—most importantly—legally protected.

So the next time you draft a patent application, don’t just focus on the “how.” Remember to include the “why”—why it’s cool, why it matters, and why people will want it. That approach can make the difference between a patent that collects dust and a patent that drives lucrative business partnerships.

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