Abstracts, images and claims for patent matters are managed from the abstract/image/claims tab In the matters module.

AppColl automatically queries PPUBS to add the abstract, claims and primary figure for all U.S. patent publications and issued U.S. patents. This should occur within a few hours of a matter being added to AppColl, provided it has a publication or patent number. AppColl should automatically query PPUBS with updated information any time a matter gets a publication number or a patent number. If for some reason the update does not automatically occur, you can click the "Update Abstract and Claims" button. 

Please note: Clicking the Update Abstract/Img/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.

The image for a matter is automatically added when you update from PPUBS. 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.