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ARTICLE · 31 MAY 2021

IPAB's Order Regarding Divisional Patent Applications In India That Can Have Far Reaching Repercussions

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A divisional patent application is derived from a previously filed patent application which relates to more than one invention or inventive concept.

IndiaIntellectual Property
Meghana Puranikmath
Meghana Puranikmath
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What is a divisional application?

A divisional patent application is derived from a previously filed patent application which relates to more than one invention or inventive concept. Such applications fall under purview of section 16(1) of the Indian Patents Act, 1970.

Ambiguities before IPAB:

Over the years, IPO and patent lawyers maintained the ideology that divisional applications could be filed at any time before the grant of the patent, if desired by applicant. This provision was adopted to certain cases when applicants were not able to comply with statutory time period for placing the application for grant. In scenarios like these, in order to claim the priority date, applicants used to file a divisional application, with similar claims as those present in the parent application, just before the due date expired. The ambiguity lied in the matter that whether such applications were supposed to be allowed or rejected. These matters soon reached IPAB for

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