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[IntelProp007]

Foreign rep asked me: What is the difference between "multiple" and "plurality of"?

My reply is multiple can have multiple meanings that can change depending on context. For example, the multiples of 3 are 3, 6, 9, 12, etc... but multiple viewing angles means more than one viewing angle. There is a slight risk, particularly if there is a translation error, that multiple viewing angles is translated or interpreted as the multiples of a viewing angle, which would lead to for example, for a 15 degree viewing angle, the multiples being 15, 30, 45, 60 degrees, etc. In contrast, "a plurality of" will rarely mean anything other than "more than one".

Any thoughts?

[khazzah]

Foreign rep asked me: What is the difference between "multiple" and "plurality of"?
My reply is multiple can have multiple meanings that can change depending on context.  ... In contrast, "a plurality of" will rarely mean anything other than "more than one".

So "plurality" is a safer bet for translation because a translator will know that it has only one meaning?

Sure, I'll buy that. I have a pretty good vocabulary, but I had never heard of "plurality" until I went into patent law, and to this day I have never heard it outside the context of patent law. So yeah, plurality seems to have only one meaning.

I always use "a plurality of widgets" rather than "multiple widgets" in my claims, but I wonder if we might see a move toward "multiple" for ease of reading. Much like "the" is now acceptable practice where "said" was the norm years ago.

However, foreign translation is an interesting angle that I had never considered. And perhaps is reason enough for sticking with the obtuse and hard-to-parse "plurality of".

[JimIvey]

Is the foreign rep asking out of curiosity or trying to translate claims or something else?

If trying to read and understand claims, I'd say there's no difference.  However, I'd probably pick up a dictionary to be sure.  Anytime you or a person of ordinary skill in the art has to pick up a dictionary to understand a claim, that's not good.  It's not necessarily bad, but it's not good.

Accordingly, if you or the rep is drafting claims (translating, for example), I'd recommend taking the opportunity to use language that the ordinary artisan would understand without a dictionary, such as "at least two", "two or more", "more than one", etc.

Regards.

[khazzah]

Accordingly, if you or the rep is drafting claims (translating, for example), I'd recommend taking the opportunity to use language that the ordinary artisan would understand without a dictionary, such as "at least two", "two or more", "more than one", etc.

So Jim, I'm curious ... you recommend avoiding "plurality", and your rationale is that a POSITA doesn't understand the term without a dictionary? [No criticism implied, just asking.]

[khazzah]

.... However, I'd probably pick up a dictionary to be sure.  Anytime you or a person of ordinary skill in the art has to pick up a dictionary to understand a claim, that's not good. 

I'm often surprised when I consult a dictionary for a word I feel I "know", and find out that the dictionary includes meanings that I didn't think of.

According to a number of online dictionaries, one of the meanings of "plurality" is

a large number or quantity

I would *not* want this meaning imported into my claim. I feel certain that it would not, given that plurality does not have this connotation to patent practitioners, and instead simply means "more than one".

On a related topic, I stopped using "exemplary" -- as in "exemplary embodiments" -- when I realized that one meaning is "worthy of imitation; commendable". That's way to close to "preferred", which I usually avoid.

[JimIvey]

So Jim, I'm curious ... you recommend avoiding "plurality", and your rationale is that a POSITA doesn't understand the term without a dictionary? [No criticism implied, just asking.]

Yeah, more or less. 

"Plurality" is one of those rare words where there is actual authority on its meaning in claims (I believe -- very old authority, if I'm not mistaken).  So, it's fine to use it.  However, "more than one" means exactly the same thing and everyone knows what that means.

I'll concede it's more a matter of style, but any product I'm controlling (writing, supervising, if I were in-house, etc.) would use some variant of "more than one" rather than "plurality."  Claims are hard enough to read when they're written in English, without having to parse all the "said"s and "plurality"s.

I'm often surprised when I consult a dictionary for a word I feel I "know", and find out that the dictionary includes meanings that I didn't think of.

According to a number of online dictionaries, one of the meanings of "plurality" is

a large number or quantity

I would *not* want this meaning imported into my claim. I feel certain that it would not, given that plurality does not have this connotation to patent practitioners, and instead simply means "more than one".

Very good example.  I didn't know about that definition either.  I've heard that "multiplicity" means a large number as well and keeps that definition in claims.  Many years ago, an attorney I worked with tried to argue for allowability on that particular meaning of "multiplicity".  I would have expected a 112 rejection for vagueness for effectively reciting "a lot more than two".

On a related topic, I stopped using "exemplary" -- as in "exemplary embodiments" -- when I realized that one meaning is "worthy of imitation; commendable". That's way to close to "preferred", which I usually avoid.

I don't use that word either, unless I really mean it.  I use "illustrative" or "example".  The latter is what I think many think the word means.  To me, exemplary goes beyond preferred; it sounds more objective and less subjective, as in something that ought to be preferred by all.

Like I said in another topic, I see way too much over-lawyerizing of patent applications.  Patents require very precise language, and the last thing you want is to use words that you only kinda, sorta know what they mean just because they sound kinda lawyerly.

Regards.

P.S.  I just noticed as I typed this out that "kinda" and "sorta" aren't caught by the spell-checker.  Really?  Those are proper English words now?

[IntelProp007]

Is the foreign rep asking out of curiosity or trying to translate claims or something else?

Foreign rep is trying to translate summary/claims. The foreign word can be translated as either "multiple" or "a plurality of," but use of "multiple" in the English translation, particularly the context and placement of words in this particular app (viewing angles), presents a risk, albeit small, of "multiple" being interpreted as what I said above (2, 4, 6, etc. are each a multiple of 2).

I also advised that "more than one" was a suitable replacement, but gets clumsy later on when you say for example "at least one of said more than one."

Cheers

[NJ Patent1]

I also advised that "more than one" was a suitable replacement, but gets clumsy later on when you say for example "at least one of said more than one."

Somtimes patents - esp the claims - can get "clumsy".  To some extent nature of the beast?  Using everyday "the" instead of "said" might help a little. 

[Patentstudent]

On a related topic, I stopped using "exemplary" -- as in "exemplary embodiments" -- when I realized that one meaning is "worthy of imitation; commendable". That's way to close to "preferred", which I usually avoid.

Karen, just as a side step, as long as it reads "a preferred" and not "the preferred" embodiment it doesn't hurt ot does it?