Divisional application

A divisional lets you carve a second patent out of an application you have already filed - but only while the first one is still pending.

In simple words

A further application under section 16, filed in respect of an invention disclosed in the provisional or complete specification already filed, which may be filed at any time before the grant of the parent.

Think of it as

Splitting one application into two, keeping the original date.

Why it matters

Two things changed recently and both matter. Rule 13(2A), inserted in 2024, expressly allows a further application to be filed in respect of an invention disclosed in an earlier further application - so a divisional of a divisional. And the Delhi High Court held in 2023 that the plurality of inventions justifying a divisional is tested on the disclosure in the provisional or complete specification, and need not appear in the parent's claims.

A simple example

Your specification describes a device and a method of manufacturing it, but you only claimed the device. A divisional directed to the method can be based on that disclosure - it does not fail merely because the method was never claimed in the parent.

Common mistake

Waiting for the grant letter before deciding. Once the parent is granted, the door is closed.

Where it comes from

Patents Act 1970, section 16; Patents Rules 2003, rule 13(2A); Syngenta Ltd v Controller of Patents, Delhi High Court, 13 October 2023 (2023:DHC:7473)