Divisional applications are filed when the patent examiner issues a “lack of unity” objection, indicating that the claims cover multiple inventions that need to be pursued in separate applications.
Key Features of a Divisional Application:
- Focus of Claims: Divisional applications often arise when the original application contains multiple inventions or claims that the patent office deems to be “non-unified.” By filing a Divisional Application, the inventor can pursue protection for these distinct aspects.
- Independent Application: A Divisional application is treated as a separate patent application, independent of the parent, but it retains the same priority date as the parent application.
- Separate Examination: The Divisional application undergoes its own examination process and results in a separate patent grant, if approved. This allows for different aspects of the original invention to be patented separately.
- Strategic Use: Filing a Divisional Application can be a strategic move to broaden or focus the scope of protection. It can also be used to extend the prosecution process of a patent application by keeping certain claims pending.
When drafting the divisional applications are filed, attention must be paid to ensure that the claims are tailored to the specific subject matter of the divisional application, ensuring that each application is distinct in its focus. The content of the original application’s specification is retained. However, it is slightly modified to focus on the subject matter relevant to the claims of the divisional patent application.