Law360, New York ( March 30, 2016, 10:37 AM EDT) -- Patent claim strategy is an important component of claim drafting. Inventors want good coverage of their inventions, and claiming various aspects of the invention in a variety of ways can provide such coverage. One very popular way of structuring patent claims is to recite function. If a patent claim issues that recites a functional element, the claim, on its face, covers anything capable of performing that function. Such claims, if properly supported by a broad and sufficiently detailed disclosure, may provide the broadest coverage of the invention in some cases. For example, in cases where the function is itself novel and inventive and the structure is not, such as in programmed machine claims, a functional claim may be helpful. In cases where novelty and inventiveness lie in the function performed by the structure, claims that recite a structure performing a function may be helpful. In other cases, a functional formula may be used to establish context for later claims....