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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.
The twelve-month window for that provisional appears to have passed.
Urgent - a deadline or loss of rights may be close
Please review this with an advocate, patent attorney or registered patent agent before you act. Do not rely on this answer alone.
The twelve months comes from section 9(1) of the Act itself. Do not assume it can be extended. Check the exact filing date and take advice today.
- If no complete specification was filed in time, the application is treated as abandoned (section 9(1)).
- An application abandoned under section 9(1) is not published (section 11A(3)(b)), so the provisional itself does not become public through the Patent Office.
- A fresh application, including the new feature, is the usual route. It gets a new date, so check what has become public since the provisional - including your own disclosures.
- If you filed abroad claiming priority from the provisional, the foreign deadlines are separate and need checking too.
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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.