The provision of divisional application derives its nexus from
the concept of 'Unity of Invention' which is an
administrative requirement present in various forms in the Patent
Laws of Countries around the world. The formal requirement
restricts the applicant from claiming more than one invention in a
single application.
Initially, the Patents and Designs Act, 1911 did not provided
any opportunity to the applicant to protect its multiple inventions
disclosed in one patent application by way of divisional
application, rather the controller had the power to refuse the
patent application on the basis of multiplicity of invention or may
direct the applicant to straightaway delete the additional
inventions from the application. For the first time in the Indian
patent history the mechanism of filing divisional application for
the protection of multiple inventions disclosed in single patent
application, was introduced by Patents and Designs (Amendment) Act,
1930.
