Which of the following factors cuts into your patent term that will not be adjusted for via PTA?

The choice regarding the Request for Continued Examination (RCE) is indeed pivotal in understanding how certain actions impact the patent term. When an applicant files an RCE, it effectively necessitates further examination of the application, which extends the prosecution process. The time spent in RCE is not factored into Patent Term Adjustment (PTA). Therefore, the patent term does not account for time consumed by the filing of the RCE, resulting in a reduction of the overall duration of patent protection granted.

On the other hand, claiming priority from a provisional application and any delays related to international filings do not lead to reductions of the patent term in the same manner as an RCE. Claims of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) for provisional applications and international delays typically can qualify for PTA adjustments, allowing for potential extensions of the patent term to compensate for specific delays in the examination process.

Thus, the crucial distinction here lies in the nature of the RCE process, which inherently extends prosecution without the possibility of any PTA adjustment, thereby directly cutting into the patent term.