Chapter 8
Examiner Psychology & the Art of Anticipation
Drafting to Survive the Examination Gauntlet
A detailed look at how patent examiners work - their incentive structures, search patterns, art-unit tendencies, and typical grounds for rejection - and how to draft claims that are both broad and examination-resilient.
2 AI prompts
Companion last updated: June 1, 2026
Key Topics
- Examiner incentive structures and art-unit culture
- Common rejection strategies (102, 103, 112)
- Prosecution-history estoppel and drafting choices
- Claim language to avoid
- Designing for IPR/PGR resilience
AI Prompt Library
Prompts for This Chapter
Tested AI prompts relevant to the topics covered in Chapter 8. Copy and adapt for your work.
Claims-analysis
ANY
Claim 1 Stress Test (Anticipation Check)
Attempts to find hypothetical prior art scenarios that would anticipate Claim 1 - a pre-filing self-critique.
Office-action
ANY
Office Action Summary and Response Plan
Summarizes an office action and generates a structured response plan with recommended strategies.