What results may arise from failing to meet the requirements for common ownership in a patent application?

The consequences of failing to meet the requirements for common ownership in a patent application primarily revolve around issues of prior art and double patenting rejections. When multiple patents are not commonly owned, a situation can arise where two patents claim the same invention or closely related inventions. This is known as double patenting, which is a situation that patent law seeks to avoid.

If the patents are not commonly owned, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) could reject one patent in favor of the other, as it considers that granting both could create an unfair competitive advantage and lead to an extension of patent rights beyond what is allowed. Therefore, a patent application may face rejection based on prior art and double patenting if common ownership is not established.

Understanding this principle helps patent applicants ensure that their applications comply with ownership requirements to prevent rejections that could hinder their patenting process. While the other options present various issues, they do not directly align with the consequences explicitly linked to the failure of common ownership requirements as strongly as the issues related to prior art and double patenting do.