An unintended claim refers to the features of an invention that are not intended to be claimed, but are nevertheless included in a drawing of a patent specification.
To begin with, jurisdictions and patent offices have different guidelines for design patent drawings. It is important that these drawings are compliant with these guidelines.
An unintended claim may be the result of a design drawing that is not compliant with the guidelines. It could be possible that the drawing was not prepared carefully, and thus lack clarity. Because of this, the design drawing may include unnecessary components.
For example, a disclosure of a wind turbine whose novelty lies in its components that allow efficient production of electricity also includes the improved design of the turbine blades in the patent drawings. The turbine blade design is primarily not intended to be claimed. It is an unnecessary feature included in the drawing. Thus, it becomes an unintended claim. Asia IP Law