New Guidelines Clarify Divisional Filings

On November 2017, the Chilean PTO (INAPI) published an update of the patent examination guidelines providing clarifications regarding divisional applications.

The Regulations to the Chilean IP Law establish that an applicant may voluntarily divide his/her application into two or more divisional applications until the issuance of the first office action regarding substantive examination, provided that the divisional application(s) does not go beyond the scope of the parent application as originally filed.

After that time, divisional applications may only be filed at the Examiner's request, when an observation due to lack of unity of invention is raised, and only while the parent application is still being prosecuted.