What must an applicant do when responding to a Restriction Requirement?

When responding to a Restriction Requirement, the applicant must elect the claims they wish to pursue. A Restriction Requirement is issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) when the examining attorney believes that an application contains multiple inventions that cannot be examined together under the same application. To resolve this, applicants are required to select one of the disclosed inventions to proceed with. This election is crucial because it allows the USPTO to focus on examining one invention at a time, ensuring that the examination process is efficient and effective.

Choosing to elect the claims simplifies the examination process and allows for a clear path forward in securing patent protection. After making this election, the applicant can then amend or drop the non-elected claims, or if desired, file a divisional application for those claims at a later stage. This process is a fundamental part of the patent application workflow in the U.S. patent system and is clearly outlined in the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP).