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Patents as Genre

Patents as Genre. Jessica Reyman Northern Illinois University Dan Burk University of Minnesota. Rhetorical Analysis of Patents. Questions: What are the persuasive features of patent documents? What do these features reveal about the social life of patents?. Definition of Genre.

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Patents as Genre

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  1. Patents as Genre Jessica Reyman Northern Illinois University Dan Burk University of Minnesota

  2. Rhetorical Analysis of Patents Questions: • What are the persuasive features of patent documents? • What do these features reveal about the social life of patents?

  3. Definition of Genre • Textual Features • Formal aspects shared across a set of texts (e.g., structure, style, content, format, vocabulary) • Social Action of Genres • Composing processes involved in creating those texts (e.g., gathering, analyzing, evaluating information, drafting process) • Reading practices used to interpret the texts (e.g., way reader approaches a text, responds) • Social roles performed by members of the discourse community (e.g., actions that can and cannot be performed by writers and readers)

  4. Textual Features of Patents • Patent number and date • References cited, including prior art • Problem-solution structure • Detailed description of the invention • Claims that define the parameters of the invention • Technical style/jargon, not plain English

  5. Intertextuality of Patents • Novelty: Have we ever seen this exact invention before? • Compare invention with all existing patents • Nonobviousness: Could someone have figured out how to create this invention based on existing knowledge? • Define the appropriate technical community and boundaries of expertise to determine which existing patents to consider

  6. Typified Rhetorical Action of Patents • Patents turn ideas into property • Patents arise from (and contribute to) a discrete, insular community of patent agents • Patents rely on the specialized knowledge to interpret prior art and establish boundaries for new inventions

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