MPEP Section 806.04(f), **>Restriction Between< Mutually Exclusive *>Species<

Executive summary:

This document contains Section 806.04(f) ("**>Restriction Between< Mutually Exclusive *>Species<") of the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (the "M.P.E.P."), Eighth Edition, Eighth Revision (July 2010). This page was last updated in January 2011. You may return to the section index to find a particular section. Alternatively, you may search the MPEP using the search box that appears on the left side of every page of BitLaw--you may restrict your search to the MPEP on the search results page.

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806.04(f) **>Restriction Between< Mutually Exclusive *>Species< [R-3]

>Where two or more species are claimed, a requirement for restriction to a single species may be proper if the species are mutually exclusive.< Claims ** to different species **>are mutually exclusive if< one claim recites limitations **>disclosed for< a first species but not * a second, while a second claim recites limitations disclosed only for the second species and not the first. This **>may also be< expressed by saying that >to require restriction between claims limited to species, the< claims ** must not overlap in scope<.