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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.
New matter cannot be added to this application. A fresh application, or possibly a patent of addition, is the usual route.
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.
Section 59(1) bars amendments that add matter, and section 16(2) bars it in a divisional. Post-dating under section 17 only moves the application date, by up to six months; it does not allow new content to be added.
- A fresh application gets its own filing date. Anything public before that date can be cited against it.
- Your earlier application will publish about eighteen months from its earliest date (section 11A). Once published, it can be cited against the later application.
- If the new feature is an improvement in or modification of your main invention, and you are the same applicant, a patent of addition may be an option (section 54).
- If you plan to file abroad, check section 39 and the twelve-month priority window of the first application.
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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.