When the United States Patent and Trademark Office determines that the claims in a single patent application are directed to subject matter defining two or more distinct inventions, the United States Patent and Trademark Office will issue a restriction requirement. The restriction requirement requires the applicant to choose which of the patentably distinct inventions to pursue in the present invention. The other inventions may be pursued in one or more divisional patent applications.
Election campaigns are the means by which candidates and political parties prepare and present their ideas and positions on issues to the voters in the period preceding election day. Contestants use a variety of techniques to reach voters and deliver their messages, including through traditional and new media, public events, written materials, or other means. In some countries, public media and/or space are allocated to contestants for these purposes (considered indirect public campaign financing). The dates of an official election campaign period, usually a period of a month or several months leading up to election day, are often legally defined. In many countries, the legal window for campaigning will end a day or two prior to election day, providing a so-called “black-out period” immediately before voting begins. Parties and candidates will establish physical premises from which they carry out campaign activities and overall operations.