What actions can an applicant take in response to an examiner’s action?

According to MPEP 203.03, an applicant has several options when responding to an examiner’s action:

The applicant’s reply may be confined to an election, a traverse of the action taken by the examiner or may include an amendment of the application.

These options can be broken down as follows:

  • Election: Choosing between different inventions or species identified by the examiner.
  • Traverse: Arguing against the examiner’s rejections or objections.
  • Amendment: Modifying the application to address the examiner’s concerns or to clarify the invention.

To learn more:

Topics: MPEP 200 - Types and Status of Application; Benefit and Priority, Patent Law, Patent Procedure
Tags: examiner action, Patent Application Response, patent prosecution