Double Patenting?, Bad examiner? Or am I misunderstanding? Options

[HughBayer]

Hello,

I filed a utility patent about a year ago with the help of David Pressman's "Patent It Yourself." I received my First OA a few weeks back, and can't help but think the examiner is rather new to the job.

My application has three ICs, and 20 claims total. Claims 1-7 are in the conventional (machine) style. Claims 8-14 present the method of creating the invention. Claims 15-20 present the method of using the invention. I went with the three styles of claims based on the advice in the "Patent It Yourself" book.

The first item in the Detailed Action reads "Double Patenting -- 1. Claims 1-7 objected to under 37 CFR 1.75 as being a substantial duplicate of claims 8-14."

Initially I was confused because the examiner cut & pasted the wrong form paragraph (MPEP 706.03(k)), using the blurb intended for allowed claims, even though all my claims are later rejected for other reasons.

So for starters, am I better off amending my claims down to one style?

The wrong paragraph mistake along with the examiners not even understanding the basic premise of my invention has me wondering how to move this towards an allowance without putting the examiner on the defensive.

Thanks, Hugh

[123bowen]

Hey there,

Im not exactly sure, but you can surf the net and look for a lawyer forum that deals with these intellectual property questions.

Oh yea and those forums are free.