Divisional Applications Put A Notch On Their Belt

The issue of the dormancy of divisional applications has recently cropped up on the IP scene in Russia. Ever since the adoption of Russian IP laws in the 1990s, hundreds of divisional applications have been filed and patents granted.

Article 1381(4) of the Civil Code provides that priority of an invention under a divisional application filed by the same applicant shall be established by the filing date of the initial application disclosing the invention. At the date of filing of the divisional application, the initial application should not be withdrawn and the initial application should not mature into the patent.

Over the years since the 1990s, patent applications have been divided and patents were granted claiming priority of the parent application. In 2022, Russian IP practitioners asked themselves a question about the meaning of the word "initial" when a divisional application is filed.