818.02(b) Generic Claims Only — No Election of Species; Linking Claims Only – No Election of Invention [R-07.2022]

818.02(b) Generic Claims Only — No Election of Species; Linking Claims Only – No Election of Invention [R-07.2022]

Where only generic claims are first presented and prosecuted in an application in which no election of a single species of that genus or of a group of patentably indistinct species has been required, and applicant later presents species claims to two or more independent or distinct species of the invention, the examiner may require applicant to elect a single species or of a group of patentably indistinct species. The practice of requiring election of species in cases with only generic claims is discussed in MPEP § 808.01(a). Where only linking claims are first presented and prosecuted in an application in which no election of a single linked invention has been made, and applicant later presents claims to two or more linked, independent or distinct inventions, the examiner may require applicant to elect a single invention.