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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.
First find out exactly what your specification discloses.
Moderate complexity - several routes or missing facts
Please review this with an advocate, patent attorney or registered patent agent before you act. Do not rely on this answer alone.
- Compare the feature, sentence by sentence, with the description, drawings and claims as filed.
- An obvious variant is not automatically disclosed. The test is what the specification actually describes, in substance.
- Ask your patent attorney to map the feature against the specification before you choose a route.
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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.