1. A constituent part of a claim that must be proved for the claim to succeed (Burke failed to prove the element of proximate cause in prosecuting his negligence claim).
2. Patents. A discretely claimed component of a patent claim. • For a prior-art reference to anticipate a claim, it must teach each and every claim element. To recover for patent infringement, the plaintiff must prove that the accused product infringes every element of at least one claim, either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents. — Also termed (in sense 2) limitation. See DOCTRINE OF EQUIVALENTS. [Cases: Patents 101(1). C.J.S. Patents §§ 140–142.]
