147 claim counting (no variation - it's 147)

50. Ben hires a registered practitioner to prosecute his patent application. The practitioner drafted an application

having fifteen claims. Claim 1 is independent, and each of claims 2-15 are singularly dependent upon claim 1.

A proper non-final Office action is mailed to the practitioner. Following consultation with Ben, the practitioner

timely prepared, signed, and filed a reply to the Office action containing an amendment that does not add new matter,

but does add claims 16-27. Each of claims 16-27 is directed to the same invention sought to be patented through

claims 1-15. The dependency of each of claims 16-27 reads “any of claims 5-15.” For purposes of fee calculation

in accordance with the patent laws, rules and procedures as related in the MPEP, how many total claims are contained

in the application after the amendment is entered?

(A) One hundred thirty-six.

(B) One hundred thirty-five.

(C) Twenty-seven.

(D) One hundred forty-seven.

(E) Fifteen.

Ben has a patent application with one independent claim, 14 singularly dependent claims (claims 2-15),

and 12 multiple dependent claims (claims 16-27). How many total claims does Ben’s application have?

ANSWER: (D) is the most correct answer. 37 CFR § 1.75; MPEP § 608.01(n). As explained in MPEP § 608.01(n),

under the heading “Multiple Dependent Claims,” subheading “Acceptable Multiple Dependent Claim Wording”

the multiple dependent claim wording of new claims 16-27 is proper. See, for example, “any one of the

preceding claims,” and “in any of claims 1-3 or 7-9.” 37 CFR § 1.75(c) states “For fee calculation purposes

under § 1.16, a multiple dependent claim will be considered to be that number of claims to which direct

reference is made therein.” Therefore, claims 16-27 would each have a claim value of eleven and the total

number of claims for fee calculation is one hundred forty-seven (12 x 11 = 132 + 15 = 147). Answers

(A) and (B) are incorrect because they are not the correct total. Answer (C) is incorrect because the multiple

dependent claims have not been calculated in accordance with 37 CFR § 1.75. Answer (E) is incorrect because

the question asks for the total after the amendment adding claims 16-27 has been entered.