What is the objective requirement for claims under 35 U.S.C. 112(b)?

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.

The objective requirement for claims under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) focuses on the clarity and definiteness of the claim language. According to MPEP 2171:

“The second requirement is an objective one because it is not dependent on the views of the inventor or any particular individual, but is evaluated in the context of whether the claim is definite — i.e., whether the scope of the claim is clear to a hypothetical person possessing the ordinary level of skill in the pertinent art.”

This means that claims must be written in a way that clearly defines the boundaries of the invention, allowing a person skilled in the relevant field to understand the scope of protection. The objective requirement ensures that the public can determine what does and does not infringe on the patent.