Legal Definitions - election of species

Definition: Election of species is a term used in patent law. It refers to a patent applicant's choice of one alternative over others after an examiner determines that a generic claim is not allowable.

For example, if a patent applicant has a generic claim that covers multiple variations of an invention, but the examiner determines that the claim is too broad, the applicant may have to choose one specific variation to pursue. This choice is known as the election of species.

This term is specific to patent law and may not be commonly used outside of that context.