Why Patents Matter for Engineers: A Practical Guide to Filing and Writing Technical Disclosures

1. What is a patent?

Accurately, a patent comprises three layers: the patent right, the patented technology, and the patent certificate (or patent document). The patent right is the exclusive legal right granted by the state to the inventor or its successors to use the invention for a certain period. The patented technology refers to the invention protected by patent law, which is a legally recognized and publicly disclosed technical solution. The patent certificate or document is the official paper issued by the patent office confirming the inventor's right to the invention and describing the technical content.

In short, the state’s intellectual property office validates the submitted technology, issues a corresponding certificate and documentation, and the holder can then exercise exclusive rights over the technology.

Patents are divided into three major categories: invention patents, utility model patents, and design patents.

Invention patents protect new technical solutions for products, methods, or improvements and have the highest legal stability and technical value.

Utility model patents protect new, practical technical solutions related to the shape or structure of a product; they are easier to obtain and cover a broader range of fields.

Design patents protect new, aesthetically pleasing designs of a product’s shape, pattern, or color combination and are not technical solutions.

2. Why apply for patents?

For individuals, patents can help with promotion, enrich resumes, and demonstrate R&D capability.

For enterprises, patents are intangible assets that enhance competitive advantage; without patents, a company may lose opportunities to protect innovations and may face IP litigation. Additionally, inventors may receive monetary rewards under patent law when the patent generates revenue.

3. How to apply for a patent?

The patent application workflow is: technical documentation → patent application files → filing → preliminary examination → substantive examination → grant or rejection.

For technical staff, the most critical step is preparing the technical documentation; the rest can be handled by patent engineers.

Key questions to consider:

Q1: What kinds of technology can be patented?

Software patents are common in internet companies because many innovations are code‑based improvements rather than physical products. Software patents usually protect abstract algorithms or data‑processing flows.

Q2: How to uncover potential patent points in your work?

Consider the following aspects:

1) Application scenarios and target users

Identify novel uses of existing software in new domains or for specific user groups.

2) Main functions and highlights

Clarify what the solution does and how it differs from existing ones; isolate the innovative technical point.

3) Decompose the solution

Break the software into smaller components to find innovation points, such as:

From functional decomposition

Analyze each functional module to the smallest granularity and look for unique features.

From architectural decomposition

Examine layers (application, platform, data) to spot novel architectural choices.

Business processes can also be split into stages to reveal improvements.

In essence, a patent protects an innovative technical point; you need to identify the decisive improvement that makes the overall solution novel.

Even modest improvements can be patentable; patents do not require a completely new invention, just a non‑obvious advancement.

Software patents often follow a data‑processing flow: acquire data → process data → obtain desired results. Any improvement in this flow (efficiency, accuracy, etc.) can be patentable.

Case examples

Case 1 (Authorized Sep 2018): Method for controlling virtual character displacement

Technical solution: When a user triggers movement, the app makes the character disappear at position A and appear at position B without showing the intermediate motion, preventing user dizziness.

Case 2 (Authorized Sep 2019): Method for generating an upgrade package

Technical solution: Select two non‑adjacent versions, determine their differences, and generate an upgrade package that allows direct upgrade, saving download time.

Case 3 (Authorized Dec 2019): Method for adjusting virtual items

Technical solution: A sliding operation transfers a virtual item from an NPC to the player’s avatar, simplifying the purchase process.

These examples are simple yet were granted patents because they solved specific technical problems.

4. How to write a technical disclosure?

A technical disclosure is a detailed document describing the invention so that a patent engineer can analyze and search for prior art. It should be clear, complete, and written from a computer‑centric perspective, not a user‑centric one.

A complete disclosure typically includes six parts:

1) Overview of the inventive point

Identify the problem the invention solves (e.g., low efficiency, high cost) and define the core inventive point.

2) Prior art technical solutions

Describe the closest existing solutions in the same technical field.

3) Deficiencies of prior art and problems solved by the invention

Explain the shortcomings of existing solutions and how the new invention addresses them.

4) Detailed description of the invention

Provide a thorough explanation of the implementation, include flowcharts, and define any proprietary terms. Avoid code snippets; describe logic in words.

5) Beneficial effects of the invention

State objective benefits such as improved efficiency, reduced cost, higher accuracy, etc., derived from the technical solution.

6) Alternative solutions

Explore other possible implementations to demonstrate the breadth of the invention.

Following this structure helps ensure the patent engineer can accurately assess the invention’s patentability.