What is an Office Action?

An office action is an official written correspondence from a patent examiner with respect to the patent application that requires a response in order for prosecution of the application to continue. An office action may include a restriction requirement, point out errors in the drafting of the patent application, reject certain claims based on existing prior art, or raise other issues related to a patent application. Clerical and legal arguments made in the office actions are completely handled by the patent attorney. If an office action relates to a technical matter or prior art, input is typically requested from the inventors to detail what differentiates the 'new' invention from the prior art or to provide insight into technical workings of the invention.