1. A method of creating an interactive hierarchical arrangement of technical elements useful for conducting efficient patent infringement analysis, the hierarchical arrangement of technical elements adapted to be displayed on a user-engageable computer display in a manner that allows a user to select and de-select particular technical elements, the method comprising: storing a record of a first element, the first element representing a first technical characteristic; storing a record of a second element, the second element representing a second technical characteristic that is a species of the first technical characteristic, the second element being programmatically connected to the first element in a manner that preserves its relationship as a species of the first element; storing a record of a third element, the third element representing a third technical characteristic; and annotating a first patent document and a second patent document, each of the first and second patent documents including at least one claim that recites an invention, wherein the step of annotating comprises: correlating a first claim of the first patent document with the second element to establish a first stored correlation; displaying, on the computer display, a representation of the first stored correlation, the representation visually indicating a direct association of the first claim of the first patent document with the second element and not the third element; correlating a second claim of the first patent document with the third element to establish a second stored correlation; displaying, on the computer display, a representation of the second stored correlation, the representation visually indicating a direct association of the second claim of the first patent document with the third element and not the second element; correlating a first claim of the second patent document with the third element to establish a third stored correlation, and displaying, on the computer display, a representation of the third stored correlation, the representation visually indicating a direct association of the first claim of the second patent document with the third element; wherein each of the correlating steps are performed on a claim-by-claim basis; wherein the hierarchical arrangement of technical elements, when displayed on the user-engageable computer display, includes representations of the first element, the second element, and the third element, wherein the representation of the second element is located in a position relative to the representation of the first element that indicates that the second element is a species of the first element, and wherein the representation of the third element is located in a position relative to the representation of the first element that does not indicate that the third element is a species of the first element.