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Should I withdraw my application and file again?

Withdrawing and refiling can give you a fresh start, but only before anything has become public. Once the application is published, refiling the same invention rarely helps.

Withdrawing is usually a bad idea after a public disclosure.

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.

  • The disclosure will be prior art against a refiled application dated after it.
  • Your current application's earlier date may be the only thing protecting you from your own disclosure.
  • Take advice before doing anything irreversible.

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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.