An international invention must relate to one invention only or to a group of inventions so linked as to form a single general inventive concept. If, during the international preliminary examination, the Examiner determines that unity of invention is lacking, he/she may examine all the claimed and previously searched inventions or he/she may invite the applicant to restrict the claims or pay additional fees. If the applicant is invited to restrict or pay, the applicant may file a protest of the holding of lack of unity or the amount of additional fee in writing no later than 1 month from the mailing date of the Written Opinion or from the mailing date of the International Preliminary Examination Report, if there was no written Opinion.
Law - Protest of PCT Holding of Lack of Unity