[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 37, Volume 1]
[Revised as of July 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 37CFR1.141]

[Page 86]
 
              TITLE 37--PATENTS, TRADEMARKS, AND COPYRIGHTS
 
                         DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
 
PART 1--RULES OF PRACTICE IN PATENT CASES--Table of Contents
 
                Subpart B--National Processing Provisions
 
Sec. 1.141  Different inventions in one national application.

    (a) Two or more independent and distinct inventions may not be 
claimed in one national application, except that more than one species 
of an invention, not to exceed a reasonable number, may be specifically 
claimed in different claims in one national application, provided the 
application also includes an allowable claim generic to all the claimed 
species and all the claims to species in excess of one are written in 
dependent form (Sec. 1.75) or otherwise include all the limitations of 
the generic claim.
    (b) Where claims to all three categories, product, process of 
making, and process of use, are included in a national application, a 
three way requirement for restriction can only be made where the process 
of making is distinct from the product. If the process of making and the 
product are not distinct, the process of using may be joined with the 
claims directed to the product and the process of making the product 
even though a showing of distinctness between the product and process of 
using the product can be made.

[52 FR 20046, May 28, 1987]