06:45 Aug 14, 2011 

...in his peer comment below.

I was always taught that the hyphens should be omitted even in preposed compound adjectives if they are preceded by an intensifier, which may be the "adverb ending in -ly" that JT was thinking of:

an easy-to-use tool
a very easy to use tool

10:14 Aug 11, 2011 

There are good arguments for maintaining the formal rule that compound preposed adjectives should be hyphenated, though there is an increasing tendency to omit the hyphen(s). This, it seems to me, is part of a general trend towards reducing punctuation, which, if applied uncritically, can impair clarity, as has been said.

As for patents, for obvious practical reasons there can be restrictions on the use of certain characters (including sometimes hyphens) in specific fields subject to computer search, but I don't think there's a general ban on hyphens in the description. Here's an example in a US patent, for what it's worth:

"The present invention relates to a device and method to assist in regulating a diet and more specifically to a portable, easy-to-use device and method to calculate and track the number of calories from each of several food groups consumed in a day."
http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/5382165/description.html

10:07 Aug 11, 2011 

I agree, as I just posted: Look at the ambiguity of "a small appliance industry", written without a hyphen.

I think some people think they're simplifying English by omitting the hyphens etc. but often it can cause more confusion.

10:04 Aug 11, 2011 

This is exactly what Oxford recommends for GB English.

Personally, I am prepared to be labelled old-fashioned and pedantic for the sake of clarity of understanding; I think the modern US trend to omit these hyphens causes a lot of misunderstanding.