Patent drawing software
Inklaim is web software from an Italian start-up founded in Turin that prepares draft patent drawings, checked against EPO, UIBM, USPTO, PCT, CNIPA and KIPO rules, from 3D CAD models (STEP/IGES), DXF or vector PDF files, photos of an object, sketches and claims.
In 72 seconds
Redrawing, renumbering, retranslating: how they become a few minutes’ work, from the 3D model, the client’s drawing or a few photos. No voice, with music.
To see it at work, step by step, watch the full 5-minute video further down.
The problem
Hours spent redrawing views that already exist, office rules that are similar but not identical, and one wrong numeral is enough for an objection.
Inklaim starts from what the firm already has: the client’s 3D model, the technical drawing, the sketch, the claims. It turns them into laid-out drawing sheets and checks them against the formal rules of the office you choose.
The draftsperson refines, the patent attorney approves, the firm files: the final check stays with the firm.
The five areas
Patent draftspersons in IP firms named them. Inklaim is built around them.
With the “Essential” level of detail, small holes, chamfers, fillets and threads disappear, and so do screws and washers. From a DXF or PDF, dimensions, text, title block, center lines and hatching are removed.
Patent figure simplification →From STEP or IGES: orthographic views, axonometric view, exploded view, hidden lines, section A-A, detail views from 2× to 5×. Several views per sheet, at the same scale.
Patent drawings from 3D CAD →Same numeral, same part, in every figure. Numerals found only in the text or only in the figures, sizes across views (3% tolerance), cited FIGs that exist and are in order.
Patent drawing consistency check →FIG. 1A, 1B and sheets “1/5”. Move a figure and the references in the text update. “Renumber all” follows the firm’s scheme: 10, 12, 14, even numbers only or hundreds per figure.
Automatic figure numbering →All the wording in the figures in one table, with find and replace. Optional AI translation following the matter’s glossary. Export by language, Chinese and Japanese included.
Drawing texts and translation →Flowcharts from the claims (S100, S102…), import from Word, editor with layers and version history, export as PDF, SVG and DXF.
All features →The result
Already laid out: four views of the same valve, at the same scale, with the reference numerals already used in the text of the application. For the section, choose the plane on a preview and the section line A-A appears by itself.
The sheet stays editable: in the Inklaim editor or, as a layered DXF, in AutoCAD.
The principle
No line is invented: each one comes from the 3D model, the 2D drawing or the sketch. CAD views, DXF and PDF import and line drawing are deterministic procedures, with no AI.
It does not replace the patent attorney or the draftsperson. It prepares a draft to refine and approve.
It does not guarantee acceptance. It applies and checks the known formal rules of the offices.
It does not open native SolidWorks, Inventor or Creo files. You export a STEP file; DWG files are saved as DXF.
Offices and formats
You choose the office when you export: sheet size, margins and labels follow its rules, and there is still only one drawing.
| Office | Source of the rule | Minimum margins (top / left / right / bottom) | Characters | Sheet numbers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPO (European patent) | Rule 49(2) EPC and Decision of the President of the EPO dated 7 July 2025, OJ EPO 2025, A49 | 2.5 / 2.5 / 1.5 / 1 cm, usable surface area 26.2 × 17 cm | at least 0.32 cm | consecutive Arabic numerals, top center |
| USPTO (United States) | 37 CFR 1.84 | 2.5 / 2.5 / 1.5 / 1.0 cm | at least 0.32 cm (1/8") | “1/3”, top center |
| PCT (international application) | Rule 11 PCT | 2.5 / 2.5 / 1.5 / 1 cm | at least 0.32 cm | “1/3, 2/3, 3/3” |
| UIBM (Italian patent) | Art. 22 D.M. 33/2010 (Italian ministerial decree) | at least 2.5 cm on all sides | not set for drawings; usually 0.32 cm | consecutive numbering |
Updated October 2026. The former Rule 46 EPC was deleted on 1 February 2023; for color and grayscale drawings (electronic filing only), see the EPO notice OJ EPO 2025, A57.
Inklaim checks every figure for sight area, character height, line widths, labels, sheet numbers and text matter that is not indispensable. Each office has its own profile: the EPO, the PCT and the USPTO ask for minimum margins of 2.5 cm at the top and left, 1.5 cm on the right and 1 cm at the bottom, while the UIBM asks for at least 2.5 cm on all sides. A sheet laid out for the EPO therefore does not meet the UIBM rule.
Data and confidentiality
On every plan, from the free trial to Enterprise. The plan does not change where the data is stored.
Pricing in brief
Prices in euros, VAT not applicable (Italian flat-rate scheme). You pay for a figure when you export it for filing; re-exports are free for 12 months.
€0for 14 days
€49per matter
€89per month
€159per seat per month
€20,000per year, starting price
Figures beyond the plan: €2.50 each. Enterprise terms to be agreed.
The video
From the STEP file to the sheet for filing: the five areas shown in the app, on the sample matter.
This is Inklaim, the drawing office for European patent firms. It prepares the sheets for filing from what the firm already has: the client’s 3D model, the technical drawing, the claims.
Today, figures are the most hand-crafted part of a matter: hours spent redrawing views that already exist, office rules, similar but not identical, and one wrong numeral is enough for an objection.
Draftspersons told us the five jobs they most want to lighten. Let’s see them in the app.
One: simplifying the figures. From the client’s 3D model, you choose the level of detail. With “Essential”, small holes, chamfers and fillets disappear, and so do threads. And screws and washers are removed on their own. Here is the same view: full on the left, essential on the right.
The same goes for the workshop drawing, as DXF or vector PDF. Dimensions, lettering, title block, center lines and hatching disappear by themselves. Before confirming, you see in color what will be removed, and how each view will look.
And what if the client’s drawing is full of identical objects, like these three hundred holes? Pick one, and “Select identical” finds every copy, even turned or mirrored. Check the selection, and delete them in one go. With AI, when it is on, just type it: “all the brackets along the rail”.
Two: sheets from the 3D model. Upload the STEP file and choose the views, axonometric and exploded views included. For the section, choose the plane on a preview: the section line A-A appears by itself. And several views on one sheet, at the same scale; the exploded view gets its own sheet.
Here is a sheet generated this way. Already laid out, with four views at the same scale. The parts carry the numerals already used in the text of the application. And the sheet stays editable, in AutoCAD too.
And what if the client only has the object? Two or three photos will do. Inklaim lifts the object off the background and suggests the lines: one click keeps the real ones. With AI, when it is on, it tells real edges from reflections itself and names the parts. One drawing per photo, with the same numerals. And for turned parts, the photos give a 3D model, with the match measured on every photo.
Three: consistency between the views. The Checks tab compares every figure in the matter, and the text. It finds the same numeral used for different parts, or the same part with different numerals. It flags figures that are cited but do not exist, or are out of order. It compares sizes across the views: here, one is ten percent narrower. And from each warning, you go straight to what needs fixing.
Four: automatic numbering. Move one figure, and all the others are renumbered. Before saving, Inklaim shows every reference in the text that will change. And you choose which ones to update. If you cancel, everything stays as it was.
“Renumber all” reassigns the numerals in the order in which the parts appear, following the firm’s own scheme too, for example even numerals only. Figures, description and claims change together, and it can all be undone straight away.
Five: the texts in the drawings. All the wording in the figures is in a single table, with the translations alongside. Words are found and replaced across all the figures at once, and before confirming, you see every change, figure by figure. When AI is switched on, it translates them following the glossary and the claims.
And from the method claims, the flowchart is ready in a few seconds. With the steps already numbered, S100, S102, and so on. Without AI, straight from the text; then you edit it like any other drawing.
When the sheet is ready, you export it for filing. Choose the office, and sheet size, margins and labels follow its rules. China and Korea too, with the images for online filing. Then the language of the texts: there is only one drawing, and the numerals never change.
Matters, files and backups are stored in the European Union, and AI works in Europe. AI is optional, and whenever it is used, it is always disclosed. And no line is invented: each comes from the model, the drawing, the sketch or the photos.
We are proposing a four-week trial, with a group of three to six draftspersons and patent attorneys, on matters already filed and published, redone with Inklaim. Together, we measure the time saved and the quality of the sheets.
Let’s try it on real patents. If you are interested, let’s choose the three matters together and get started.
FAQ
No. The lines come from the 3D model, the DXF or PDF drawing or the sketch. AI is optional and works on texts: it translates following the matter’s glossary and proposes numerals for you to confirm.
3D models in STEP, IGES or BREP; drawings in DXF or vector PDF; sketches and photos (beta); texts from Word. From SolidWorks, Inventor or Creo you export a STEP file; DWG files you save as DXF.
They are laid-out drafts checked against the formal rules of the EPO, the USPTO, the PCT and the UIBM. The draftsperson refines, the patent attorney approves, the firm files. Acceptance is not guaranteed.
In the European Union, on every plan. AI, if turned on, runs on Google Cloud with processing in the EU; Google states that it does not use customer data to train models without permission (source: Google Cloud).
The pilot
A pilot with your firm, on matters already filed and published. Together we measure the time saved and the quality of the sheets.
We start once the pilot agreement is signed. Financial terms are agreed case by case.
The firm chooses 3 matters already filed and published, with sheets drawn by hand.
Draftspersons and patent attorneys redo them with Inklaim. A “Feedback” button on every page and a short questionnaire every week.
Time and sheet quality compared with the firm’s usual work.