This resource was adapted from a micro-course created by Dave Bloom, a Patent and Trademark Resource Librarian at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. View the full course. The Patent and Trademark Resource Centers (PTRC) Program administers a nationwide network of public, state and academic libraries designated by the United States Patent and Trademark Office to support the public with trademark and patent assistance. To find a PTRC in your area, visit the PTRC website.
These pages detail the anatomy of a granted patent, emphasizing its major components. The example referenced throughout is US9,414,558, a granted U.S. patent that protects a variety of, seed for, and a method of producing an oat plant (images are included below; however, you may find it helpful to download and view the linked PDF of this patent as you read through this description).
Although the example used is a granted U.S. utility patent, this format shares much in common with nonprovisional utility patent applications and international patents. Specific patentability requirements vary among countries or regions, but the basic parts of a patent are extremely consistent.
Published patent documents only include fields that are relevant for the patent, thus this example does not include all possible content, but includes most common fields.