The applicant is notified in writing of the examiner’s decision by an
“action” which is normally mailed to the attorney or agent of record.
The reasons for any adverse action or any objection or requirement are
stated in the action and such information or references are given as may
be useful in aiding the applicant to judge the propriety of continuing
the prosecution of his/her application.
If the claimed invention is not directed to patentable subject matter,
the claims will be rejected. If the examiner finds that the claimed
invention lacks novelty or differs only in an obvious manner from what
is found in the prior art, the claims may also be rejected. It is not
uncommon for some or all of the claims to be rejected on the first
office action by the examiner, relatively few applications are allowed
as filed.