Dargaye Churnet penned Patent Claims Revisited (Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property, August 2013) in an attempt to address shortcomings facing this country's patent system. The proposal bears some resemblance to the USPTO's request for patent application proposals, including the use of a glossary in a patent application. Churnet proposes a glossary in the form of a claim chart. Below is an excerpt of that claim chart. One of the potential issues with the glossary approach is that claim terms change during prosecution, whether by amendment or cancellation. When filing an application, where your claims start, is not necessarily what you have when claims are issued. Would a glossary of terms really help the understanding of patent claims? I'm not convinced either way yet.