Side-by-Side Prior Art Comparison
Compare claim elements against prior art references in a split-screen view with highlighted text, passage linking, and coverage analysis.
Open the Prior Art Comparator
From the Prior Art Matrix (Step 2), click any cell to open the comparator panel. The left side shows your claim element text. The right side shows the corresponding passage from the prior art reference.
Highlighted Claim Text
The claim element on the left is displayed with highlighting. Key terms that the examiner mapped to the reference are highlighted in color. This shows exactly which words the examiner believes correspond to the cited passage.
Reference Passage
The right side shows the specific paragraph or section from the reference that the examiner cited. The relevant phrases are highlighted to show the correspondence with the claim element.
Pro Tip
Look for mismatches between the highlighted terms. If the examiner mapped "wireless transmitter" to a passage about "wired connection", you have a strong distinguishing argument.
Navigate Between Elements
Use the arrow buttons or element list to move between different claim elements. Each element shows its own side-by-side comparison with the corresponding reference passage.
Coverage Analysis
The comparator shows a coverage summary: how many elements are mapped vs. unmapped. Unmapped elements are your strongest arguments -- the examiner has no support for these claim limitations in the cited reference.
Open Full Reference
Click "View Full Document" to open the complete reference in the document viewer. This lets you check the surrounding context of the cited passage and identify additional distinguishing features.
Try It Yourself
Put what you learned into practice. Start free with $25 in credits.