# Response

A written reply from a patent applicant to an office action. A response must address every rejection and objection raised by the examiner — arguing why the rejection is wrong, amending the claims to overcome the rejection, or both. Failing to respond within the deadline causes the application to go abandoned. A well-crafted response is often the difference between getting a patent and getting a final rejection.

**Full entry:** https://patentbrief.org/glossary/response

**All patent terms:** https://patentbrief.org/glossary

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_Source: PatentBrief — https://patentbrief.org. A plain-English glossary of US patent terms._