How is a product claim defined by a process treated in patent examination?
A product claim defined by the process by which it is made is still considered a product claim in patent examination. This principle is based on the decision in In re Bridgeford, as cited in MPEP 806.05(f):
“A product defined by the process by which it can be made is still a product claim ( In re Bridgeford, 357 F.2d 679, 149 USPQ 55 (CCPA 1966)) and can be restricted from the process if the examiner can demonstrate that the product as claimed can be made by another materially different process; defining the product in terms of a process by which it is made is nothing more than a permissible technique that applicant may use to define the invention.”
This means that even if a product is defined by its manufacturing process, it is still treated as a product claim and can be subject to restriction if the examiner can show that the product can be made by a materially different process.
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