What happens to non-elected inventions when a linking claim is found allowable?
When a linking claim is found allowable in a patent application, it can have significant implications for non-elected inventions. The Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) 809 provides guidance on this situation:
“When all claims directed to the elected invention are allowable, should any linking claim be allowable, the restriction requirement between the linked inventions must be withdrawn. Any claim(s) directed to the nonelected invention(s), previously withdrawn from consideration, which depends from or requires all the limitations of the allowable linking claim must be rejoined and will be fully examined for patentability in accordance with 37 CFR 1.104.”
This means that if a linking claim is found allowable, previously withdrawn claims that depend from or include all the limitations of the allowable linking claim must be rejoined and examined. This process ensures that all related inventions linked by the allowable claim are considered for patentability.
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