Legal Definitions - formal rejection

Definition: Formal rejection is a refusal to accept a contractual offer or tendered goods as contractual performance. It can also refer to a patent examiner's finding that a claim in a patent application is unpatentable due to an error in format rather than substance.

Examples:

• A company offers to sell their product to another company, but the offer is formally rejected by the second company.
• A patent examiner finds that a patent claim is unpatentable due to an error in format, such as missing information or incorrect wording.

The examples illustrate how formal rejection can occur in both contractual and patent situations. In both cases, the rejection is based on a specific error or issue rather than a fundamental problem with the offer or claim.