Which of the following is NOT one of the common types of rejections?

The correct answer is that inequitable conduct, which is associated with 202, is not considered one of the common types of rejections during the examination of a patent application. Inequitable conduct is a concept related to patent law that involves the intentional misrepresentation or omission of material information during the patent application process, which can lead to a patent being rendered unenforceable if it is proven. However, it is not typically addressed as a rejection type issued by a patent examiner in the examination process.

In contrast, common types of rejections that patent examiners frequently issue include:

• The rejection under 103 for obviousness, which assesses whether the claimed invention is obvious in light of prior art.

• The rejection under 112(a) for lack of a written description, which ensures that the patent application clearly articulates what the inventor has invented and enables a person skilled in the art to understand the invention.

• The rejection under 101 addresses whether the claimed subject matter is eligible for patent protection, which includes evaluating if the invention fits within the categories established by patent law, such as processes, machines, articles of manufacture, or compositions of matter.

Thus, the focus in patent rejections is on specific criteria that are applied to evaluate the patentability