Question: Your client, A, owns a patent covering a golf club. The patent has one claim which states: Claim 1. An apparatus for hitting golf balls comprising: a shaft having upper and lower ends and made of metal, and having a substantially elliptical cross-sectional area; a club head connected to said lower end of said shaft; and a grip portion connected to said upper end of said shaft. One month after the patent has issued, A discovers that he incorrectly claimed his invention. The claim is too narrow because it limits the composition of the shaft to metal, whereas golf clubs can be made of graphite. The claim also does not adequately describe the direction of the ellipse in relation to the club as is set forth in the patent drawings. Your client intended his original patent application to be limited to golf clubs, as opposed to other types of apparatuses. A asks if the patent can be corrected. As a result, you file a reissue application within the next six months which includes an amended claim as follows: Claim 1. A[n apparatus] golf club [for hitting golf balls] comprising: a shaft having upper and lower ends [and made of metal, and having a substantially elliptical cross-sectional area; a club head connected to said lower end of said shaft; and a grip portion connected to said upper end of said shaft: wherein the elliptical cross-sectional area is formed of an ellipse having a long axis parallel to the angle of motion during the golf swing. The examiner only objects to the language "angle of motion during the golf swing" in the proposed amended claim as indefinite, but in all other respects, agrees to the amendment. In order to overcome the objection, you want to file a second amended claim. Which of the following would constitute proper form for a second amendment.
A. Claim 1. A golf club comprising: a shaft having upper and lower ends, and having a substantially elliptical cross-sectional area; a club head connected to said lower end of said shaft, and having a face; and a grip portion connected to said upper end of said shaft: wherein the elliptical cross-sectional area is formed of an ellipse having a long axis being perpendicular to the face of the club head.
B. Claim 1. A[n apparatus] golf club [for hitting golf balls] comprising: a shaft having upper and lower ends [and made of metal], and having a substantially elliptical cross-sectional area; a club head connected to said lower end of said shaft, and having a face; and a grip portion connected to said upper end of said shaft: wherein the elliptical cross-sectional area is formed of an ellipse having a long axis being perpendicular to the face of the club head.
C. Cancel claim 1 and add the following new claim: Claim 1. A golf club comprising: a shaft having upper and lower ends, and having a substantially elliptical cross-sectional area; a club head connected to said lower end of said shaft, and having a face; and a grip portion connected to said upper end of said shaft; wherein the elliptical cross-sectional area is formed of an ellipse having a long axis being perpendicular to the face of the club head.
D. Claim 1. A[n apparatus] golf club [for hitting golf balls] comprising: a shaft having upper and lower ends [and made of metal, and having a substantially elliptical cross-sectional area; a club head connected to said lower end of said shaft, and having a face; and a grip portion connected to said upper end of said shaft; wherein the elliptical cross-sectional area is formed of an ellipse having a long axis being (parallel to the angle of motion during the golf swing) perpendicular to the face of the club head.
(category: patent, Chinese translation: 专利)