Constraint 2: Definite/Indefinite Article Distinction
Antecedent Basis & Referential Integrity
Patent claims function as closed loops where article choice is binary legal logic. "A/an" introduces new elements; "the/said" references previously defined elements. Generic models treat articles as low-value tokens and frequently delete definite pointers in complex quantifiers, introducing "New Matter" that can render claims unenforceable.
| ID | Error Type | Case Summary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| C2-001 | Antecedent Failure | Antecedent Basis Preservation — "The at least some". A manufacturing patent claim referenced "the at least some of the regions" to link back to a specific antecedent. Generic NMT optimized for fluency, translating this as d'au moins certaines (indefinite), which legally implied new, undefined regions. The aligned model enforces the definite article des (contraction of de+les) to create des au moins certaines, preserving the mandatory legal link to the prior element. | View PDF |
| C2-002 | Scope Drift | Prepositional Scope Control — "Of" vs. "Among". A technical claim defined a calculation using a "difference... of the at least two times." Generic NMT "smoothed" the awkward syntax to parmi (among), changing the meaning from a mandatory calculation to a subset selection. This "Scope Drift" creates litigation risk. The alignment protocol implements a "Prepositional Lock" to enforce the literal des (of the), prioritizing legal accuracy over stylistic fluency. | View PDF |
| C2-003 | Parallelism |
Structural Consistency in Multi-Step Claims.
In a method claim listing steps, generic NMT correctly nominalized the
first verb (l'application) but drifted back to an infinitive for
the second step (appliquer) after a semicolon. This mixed syntax
violates the "Parallelism Rule." The model is trained with
"Long-Range Dependency" checks to ensure that if the first step is a Noun,
all subsequent sibling steps must also be Nouns.
ⓘ Cross-category note: primary constraint is Article / Referential Integrity (the parallelism breakdown is a downstream consequence). Thematic overlap with Constraint 1 — Verb Nominalization. |
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