What are the criteria for determining distinctness between inventions?

The criteria for determining distinctness between inventions are outlined in MPEP 806. Inventions are considered distinct if they meet at least one of the following criteria:

• The inventions have acquired a separate status in the art due to their recognized divergent subject matter.
• The inventions require different fields of search (e.g., searching different classes/subclasses or electronic resources, or employing different search strategies or search queries).
• The prior art applicable to one invention would not likely be applicable to another invention.
• The inventions are likely to raise different non-prior art issues under 35 U.S.C. 101 and/or 35 U.S.C. 112, first paragraph.

As stated in MPEP 806, “Where inventions are related as disclosed but are distinct as claimed, restriction may be proper.” This means that even if inventions share some common elements, they can still be considered distinct if they meet the above criteria.

To learn more:

• distinctness
• inventions
• restriction
• criteria
• MPEP 806