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

When responding to a Restriction Requirement, the correct course of action for an applicant is to elect the claims they wish to pursue. A Restriction Requirement typically occurs when a patent examiner finds that the claims in an application relate to more than one distinct invention. This legal requirement necessitates a choice so that the applicant decides which invention they want to proceed with in the original application.

By electing claims, the applicant is indicating which specific aspects of their invention they wish to continue with for examination. This process is critical as it helps streamline the examination process, allowing the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to focus on one invention at a time. Furthermore, if the applicant wants to pursue the other inventions indicated in the non-elected claims, they may subsequently file divisional applications for those inventions, but this is not an automatic step tied to a Restriction Requirement.

The other options are not suitable responses to a Restriction Requirement. Revising all claims is unnecessary since the requirement allows the applicant to choose only the claims they want to pursue. Automatically filing a divisional application is not mandated; this step is dependent on the applicant's strategy and interests after the election. Providing additional evidence for all claims is also irrelevant in this context as the restriction