What is the effect of canceling claims to all but one invention in a patent application?
Canceling claims to all but one invention in a patent application has the effect of electing that remaining invention for examination. According to MPEP 818.02(c):
“Where applicant claims two or more independent or distinct inventions and as a result of amendment to the claims, he or she cancels the claims to one or more of such inventions, leaving claims to one invention, and such claims are acted upon by the examiner, the claimed invention thus acted upon is elected.”
This means that by canceling claims to all other inventions, the applicant is effectively choosing (or electing) the remaining invention for further prosecution. The patent examiner will then proceed with the examination of the claims to this elected invention.
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