Abstract: The invention is a patent application preparation system that automatically creates a template application for a drafter based on a record of invention form filled out by the inventor, practitioner or a combination of the two and at least one piece of prior art identified in a search report. The preparation system parses the text within the prior art document and identifies the claim elements that define the scope of the prior art invention. These old inventive features are subsequently highlighted from the claims and written description sections of the prior art references while the general body, format and non-claim features of the prior art remain intact which are subsequently amended and supplemented with the new inventive features described in the record of invention form.