What is a divisional patent application? What are the advantages of applying for patent division?

The concept of divisional application exists because it is based on a characteristic of patents, that is, the "singleness" of patents. The so-called singularity means that an application for a patent for an invention or utility model should be limited to one invention or utility model, and two or more inventions or utility models belonging to a general inventive concept can be filed as one application. That is to say, if the applicant contains multiple patented technologies in one patent application for convenience/saving money and/or other reasons, either the examiner actively issues an examination opinion to ask the applicant to split the case, or the applicant applies for splitting the case by himself, so that one patent becomes multiple.

What are the advantages of the applicant's initiative to file a division?

First, if the enterprise needs multiple patents, but the amount of technology research and development is not much, this method can be adopted.

When the examination opinions issued by the patent think that there are no major problems to be authorized, the applicant can take the initiative to file a divisional application. This not only ensures the authorization rate, but also ensures the application volume.

This situation applies to the situation that a technical point can derive multiple auxiliary technologies-

For example, the inventor developed the specific preparation process of the drug while developing the drug formula.

Such a "fuzzy state" technology can be applied first and then handled separately on the premise that the quality of the technology itself is very good and a high-quality agent is found.

Second, replace the examiner and re-examine, so as to improve the patent licensing rate.

Because patents are manually examined, there is a deviation in personal understanding of technology, and it is very likely that the examiner will issue examination opinions many times, and the applicant can't solve the problem through repeated communication.

At this time, if a divisional application is filed, because the patent examination is randomly assigned to the examiner, it is equivalent to having the opportunity to "replace" the examiner.

In this case, there is an opportunity for re-examination, and because different examiners have different perceptions of technology, in a sense, the success rate of patent acquisition will be greatly improved.

Third, the layout of patents is "confidential".

Patents are publicly protected. Once made public, competitors can also understand their own technical structure.

However, if the applicant "packages" a series of patents in the early stage and applies separately at an appropriate time, the most direct effect is to confuse competitors and make them confused about the routine and purpose of the applicant.