When should an examiner reject claims after an interference judgment?

An examiner should reject claims after an interference judgment if allowing them would conflict with the judgment’s outcome. The MPEP provides clear guidance on this: If a party loses on an issue in the interference, the examiner should reject any claim for which allowance would be inconsistent with the interference judgment.

This means that the examiner must carefully consider the interference judgment and ensure that any subsequent claim allowances align with the decision made during the interference proceeding. If allowing a claim would contradict or be inconsistent with the interference judgment, the examiner is obligated to reject that claim.

To learn more:

• interference judgment
• claim rejections
• patent examination