Claim Chart for SEPs

A claim chart for an SEP is a table that places each element of a patent claim beside the passage of a standard document that discloses it. The claim is broken into individual clauses, and every clause is mapped to evidence from the specification documents. The chart then states whether the mapped feature is essential to the standard or optional. Patent owners rely on the result when joining a patent pool, negotiating cross-licences, licensing out, or preparing litigation.

A claim chart against a standard maps the claim to the words of the standard specification. An evidence of use chart maps the same claim to a product that has been bought, tested, or documented. Both use the same clause by clause structure, so they read alike. The standard based chart supports essentiality arguments and pool submissions. The product based chart supports infringement and licensing discussions with one named implementer. Licensing programmes often need both, in that order.

The inventive step of the independent claim matters most, and it is the most crucial aspect of the chart. That feature is what distinguishes the claim from what came before, so an essentiality argument stands or falls on whether the standard actually requires it. Each clause of the claim is mapped to evidence in the specification documents, and cited specification documents are published after the priority date of the patent. Dependent claims follow once the independent claim is settled.

The patent to be charted and the standard it is said to read on are the starting point. Family members you want covered, the release of the standard in question, and the prosecution history all help, because the file history shows how the claim language was allowed. If the chart is going to a patent pool, the format that pool expects is useful to have up front. Where claim language is implementer dependent, say which configurations matter to you.