What is a Markush claim?

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Source: FAQ (MPEP-Based) BlueIron Update: 2024-09-27 10 Rules 5 Related FAQs This page is an FAQ based on guidance from the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure. It is provided as guidance, with links to the ground truth sources. This is information only: it is not legal advice. A Markush claim is a type of patent claim that recites a list of alternatively useable members. The key characteristics of a Markush claim are: It lists specified alternatives within a claim The alternatives are selected from a closed group “consisting of” the listed members The members share a “single structural similarity” and a common use As stated in the MPEP: A “Markush” claim recites a list of alternatively useable members. In re Harnisch, 631 F.2d 716, 719-20, 206 USPQ 300, 302-304 (CCPA 1980); Ex parte Markush, 1925 Dec. Comm’r Pat. 126, 127 (1924). Related Rules from the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure 10 rules Collapse Markush Claim Members Must Share Structural Similarity and Common Use MPEP 2117 Format of Markush Claims Does Not Matter MPEP 2117 Permitted Markush Grouping May Share Structural Similarity and Common Use MPEP 2117 Permitted Claims Must Set Forth Alternatives MPEP 2117 Proper Approach to Evaluating Markush Groups MPEP 2117 Requirement for Markush Claims to Comply with Written Description MPEP 2117 Examine Claim for All Patentability Conditions MPEP 2117 Recommended Claim Must Consist of Alternatives MPEP 2117 Improper Markush Grouping Must Not Share Structural Similarity or Common Use MPEP 2117 Claims Reciting Alternatives Treated as Markush Claims MPEP 2117 Recommended Other Related FAQs 5 FAQs Collapse How is an improper Markush grouping rejection addressed? How are Markush claims examined for patentability? Can a Markush claim be rejected as indefinite? Can a Markush claim include both compounds and processes? How can an applicant overcome a rejection based on an improper Markush grouping?