What is the focus of the utility requirement in patent law?
The focus of the utility requirement is on the claimed invention. As stated in the MPEP, The claimed invention is the focus of the assessment of whether an applicant has satisfied the utility requirement.
This means that each claim must be evaluated individually for compliance with the utility requirement under 35 U.S.C. 101.
Generally, a dependent claim will have utility if the independent claim it depends from has utility and is in the same statutory class. However, there may be exceptions if the utility specified in the dependent claim differs from that of the independent claim.
To learn more:
Topics:
MPEP 2100 - Patentability,
MPEP 2107.02 - Procedural Considerations Related To Rejections For Lack Of Utility,
Patent Law,
Patent Procedure