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I filed a patent application and now want to add a new feature. What are my options?
Amendment, a fresh application, a divisional or a patent of addition - which one is even possible depends on what you filed, its status, and whether the feature was already described.
After grant, you cannot add a new feature to the patent.
High complexity - significant legal consequences
Please review this with an advocate, patent attorney or registered patent agent before you act. Do not rely on this answer alone.
Post-grant amendment under section 57 is still limited by section 59 - disclaimer, correction or explanation only - and it may be published and opposed (section 57(3) and (4)).
- A fresh application is the usual route for the new feature. Your own granted patent is prior art against it.
- If you are the patentee of the main invention and the feature is an improvement in or modification of it, consider a patent of addition (section 54).
- Check whether any other family member, or a pending divisional, is still open.
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Educational guidance only - not legal advice. Do not rely on it. It cannot see your documents, your dates or the prior art, and those usually decide the answer. Laws, rules, forms, fees and deadlines change. Please review your situation with a qualified advocate, patent attorney or registered patent agent before you act or decide not to act.
Not sure whether this applies to your invention?
The honest answer usually needs someone to look at your actual disclosure, your timeline and the prior art. That is a conversation, not an article.