Hi folks--I'm working on my RPA. I have many questions, but will try to group them by subject. Some questions may seem overly picky, but I'm doing this all myself, with the aid of David Pressman's "Patent It Yourself" (13th ed., 2008).

In the Specification, (BACKGROUND--PRIOR ART subheading) I first refer generally to a vast group of items from my field. They are found in numerous statutory classes (process/method, machine, article of manufacture) and I wish to refer to them collectively. For example, "Humans have devised many systems to conceptualize and explain relationships between colors." (The second sentence will point out why all but a tiny subgroup are irrelevant with regard to prior art. I begin this way because the context is critical...it's a forest/trees thing.) Then it's on to the actual prior art references .

My question: is the word "systems" adequate to sum up all the ideas, methods, devices, and products already in existence? I wish to be concise so as not to lose the examiner. I recognize that this lead-in sentence isn't quite so critical as the description of my own gizmo, butI don't want to use a legally limiting or inappropriate term in the very first sentence.

Also: what is the proper format for citing prior art that is not a patent (e.g. journal articles, books, art, even workshops)? Surprisingly, Pressman doesn't cover this. Thanks for your help!