Overcoming the Examiner’s Rejection
The Patent Examiner stated that our claims did not particularly point out and distinctly claim our invention. Can we overcome the Examiner’s rejection?
Whether Applicants can overcome the Examiner’s rejections of the claims, depends on the evidence.
35 U.S.C. 112, in part, reads:
(a) In General:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
(b) Conclusion:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Be Precise
35 U.S.C. 112 requires Applicants’ claims to precisely claim the subject matter of the invention. When the Examiner argues that the Applicants’ claims failed to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter the inventors regard as the invention, in effect, the Examiner argues that the claim language is unclear or uncertain.
An Unfixable Rejection
Example of an unfixable 35 U.S.C. 112(b) claim rejection: Applicants’ claimed subject matter is not disclosed and enabled in the Specification and Drawings. By way of illustration, Applicants claimed a chair with arms and the Application does not disclose a chair with arms.
A Potentially Fixable Rejection
Example of a potentially fixable 35 U.S.C. 112(b) claim rejection: Applicants used terminology in the claims not utilized in the Specification.
Other examples of fixable 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejections:
-
- Applicants incorrectly numbered the claims
- Applicants failed to provide an antecedent basis before associating the word “the” or “said” with a claimed structural element
- Applicants erroneously referenced element 1 of the invention as element number 2 and referenced element number 2 as number 1
- In a third claim, Applicants referenced a second claim that depended from more than one previous claim
- Applicants over utilized the conjunctions “and”, “but” or “or”
- Applicants claimed structural elements are not interconnected
If you need legal assistance procuring your Patents and other intellectual property rights, please contact Business Patent Law, PLLC.
Business Patent Law, PLLC provides intellectual property and business counsel for businesses and companies.
If you would like to stay up-to-date with news that impacts your business and intellectual property, sign up for Business Patent Law’s Monthly Mailer™ newsletter.