MPEP 2144: Supporting an Obviousness Rejection

Answer in brief

MPEP 2144 explains where the reasoning for an obviousness rejection can come from: the references, common knowledge, scientific principles, or legal precedent. Its subsections cover official notice, overlapping ranges, art-recognized equivalents and suitability for an intended purpose.

What MPEP 2144 covers

The rationale may be in the prior art, or reasoned from common knowledge or established case law.

2144.01 Implicit disclosure. 2144.02 Reliance on scientific theory.
2144.03 Official notice of facts that are well known.
2144.04 Legal precedent, such as changes in size, shape or sequence, duplication of parts, and making parts integral or separable.
2144.05 Similar and overlapping ranges, amounts and proportions; routine optimization.
2144.06 Art-recognized equivalence for the same purpose. 2144.07 Art-recognized suitability for an intended purpose.
2144.08 and 2144.09: species and genus, and close structural similarity in chemistry.

How examiners use it

Examiners cite 2144.04 precedents (for example, mere duplication of parts) when the difference over the prior art is a routine design change.

On the patent bar

Know the legal-precedent list in 2144.04 and that overlapping ranges create a prima facie case.

Read the full text

Official title: Supporting a Rejection Under 35 U.S.C. 103 [R-01.2024].

Read MPEP 2144 in full on Wysebridge ↗

Or at the source: USPTO MPEP § 2144.

Sources for this entry

USPTO — MPEP § 2144 USPTO
Official text of this section, Ninth Edition, Revision 01.2024.
Wysebridge MPEP Center Wysebridge (publisher of this site)
The full MPEP (9th Ed., Rev. 01.2024) free to read, with Wysebridge's estimated patent bar weight for each chapter.

Practical guidance is original editorial content. Company-published figures are the company's own claims and are labeled as such.

Continue this reading path

MPEP 2144.05: Overlapping Ranges and Routine Optimization Official Notice in the MPEP MPEP 2143: The KSR Rationales for Obviousness

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Cite or share this entry

MPEP.net. “MPEP 2144: Supporting an Obviousness Rejection.” Wysebridge Reference. Content reviewed 9 November 2026.
https://mpep.net/mpep-2144/