Unity of invention

The patent application can only relate to a single invention or a plurality of inventions linked in such a way that they form a single general inventive concept: this is the requirement of unity of invention.

There can be a plurality of inventions when there are multiple independent claims or, in cases where an independent claim is not novel or does not involve an inventive step, multiple dependent claims can also be considered.

The requirement for an identical inventive concept will only be satisfied if there is a technical relationship between the claimed inventions, involving one or more specific identical or corresponding technical elements.