Chinese government reveals Microsoft’s secret list of Android-killer patents

Re:Chinese government reveals Microsoft’s secret list of And... by gloriousDetails on Tuesday June 17, 2014 @10:05AM (#7904451)

In http://www.thefreedictionary.com/include all this is clarified, the botton line or golden rule of usage (edited).

  Some writers insist that include be used only when it is followed by a partial list of the contend of the reference of the subject. This restriction is too strong. The use of comprise or consist of  will avoid ambiguity when a listing is meant to be exhaustive.

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Re:Chinese government reveals Microsoft’s secret list of And... by quickaccount on Tuesday June 17, 2014 @01:51PM (#7905835)

I agree that it's the opposite of standard usage but that's how it's interpreted in patent language. Here's a quote straight from the USPTO website:

"The transitional term “comprising”, which is synonymous with “including,” “containing,” or “characterized by,” is inclusive or open-ended and does not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps." http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s2111.html

There are other non-standard interpretations in patent language. For example, "a" or "an" is not necessarily a singular but can mean "one or more". Also the inventor is free to provide their own definitions for words they use in the patent specification.

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