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My patent specification has around 20 chapters and each chapter has multiple drawings.

My drawings are numbered like this. FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, FIG. 2A etc. i.e. If Chapter 2 has only 2 drawings, then the drawings will have numbers like FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B.

And I have numbered each unique feature like 202, 204 etc. This kind of numbering works fine when you don't have more than 50 unique features.

My chapter 6 has around 20 drawings and more than 50 unique features. So I would like to name the feature numbers like 6A02, 6A04 etc.

Is this accepted or I have to follow some standard for diagram numbers?

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  • I'm a little confused aren't there 100 possibilities between 200 and 299? Features can and should be shared between different figures they are shown on. – Eric Shain Jul 21 '19 at 18:44
  • @EricShain Yes, but i'm using even numbers. Many patents I have seen follow that structure. I'm not sure why. – Giri Jul 21 '19 at 19:07
  • Maybe you should ask that question. I don't think there is any reason to limit you to even numbers other than it gives you room to add another feature if you forgot one. – Eric Shain Jul 21 '19 at 19:14
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The MPEP says reference characters are preferably numerical. Patent applications do not usually have "chapters" and there is no need to invent a convention like that. As mentioned, even numbers let you add a number later without worrying about re-numbering but renumbering would not be needed anyway. That is not true of drawings - they need to be in order. There is no requirement that says a reference 500 can't appear on a figure full of references in the 200's. If you have a "2nd embodiment" and want to have all of the reference designators remind the reader of that, feel free to start with 2000 rather than 200. MPEP on drawings

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  • A link to the MPEP page can be very helpful. – Giri Jul 21 '19 at 21:20

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