Abstracts, images and claims for patent matters are managed from the Abstract/Image/Claims tab in the Matters module once a matter is selected. 

AppColl automatically queries PPUBS to add the abstract, claims and primary figure for all U.S. patent publications and issued U.S. patents. This will occur when a new matter is added, or upon saving the matter in AppColl, provided it has a publication or patent number. If for some reason the update does not automatically occur, you can click the Update Abstract/Img/Claims button. 

Please note: Clicking the Update Abstract/Image/Claims button will overwrite any values retrieved from EspaceNet

Additionally, you can manually add your own abstract, image and/or claims. If claims are manually entered, they will remain in the same format you enter them. However, the Count & Format Claims button auto formats them by highlighting the independent claims and indenting dependent claims beneath their parent claims. 

If you want to edit claims, it will be easier to edit them without formatting. You can remove formatting by clicking on the Clear Formatting button. When you are finished editing, click on the Count & Format Claims button to reformat the claims.

AppColl now has two fields that store the number of independent claims and total claims for a patent matter. These fields will be automatically updated if you click on the Count & Format Claims button.

NumberOfClaims - This is the total number of claims in a matter (independent plus dependent).
NumberOfIndependentClaims - This is the number of independent claims.

If you want to use a different image, click on the trash can to remove the existing image. After that, you can either drag the new image into the page or browse to locate the image on your local device.


The Abstract works by allowing users to edit this as desired.