A divisional patent application (sometimes referred to as a divisional application or simply a divisional) is a type of patent application

Patent application

A patent application is a request pending at a patent office for the grant of a patent for the invention described and claimed by that application. An application consists of a description of the invention , together with official forms and correspondence relating to the application...

 which contains matter from a previously filed application (the so-called parent application). Whilst a divisional application is filed later than the parent application, it may retain its parent's filing date, and will generally claim the same priority

Priority right

In patent, industrial design rights and trademark laws, a priority right or right of priority is a time-limited right, triggered by the first filing of an application for a patent, an industrial design or a trademark respectively...

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Divisional applications are generally used in cases where the parent application may lack unity of invention

Unity of invention

In most patent laws, unity of invention is a formal administrative requirement that must be met by a patent application to become a granted patent. Basically, a patent application can relate only to one invention or a group of closely related inventions. The purpose of this requirement is...

; that is, the parent application describes more than one invention and the applicant is required to split the parent into one or more divisional applications each claiming only a single invention. The ability to file divisional applications in cases of lack of unity of invention is required by Article 4G of the Paris Convention

Paris convention

The Paris convention might refer to:* The Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy* The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property...

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Practice by jurisdiction

The practice and procedure of filing a divisional patent application varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

European Patent Convention

Before the European Patent Office

European Patent Organisation

The European Patent Organisation is a public international organisation created in 1977 by its contracting states to grant patents in Europe under the European Patent Convention of 1973...

 (EPO), divisional applications can be filed under . A European divisional application is a new application which is separate and independent from the parent application, unless specific provisions in the European Patent Convention

European Patent Convention

The Convention on the Grant of European Patents of 5 October 1973, commonly known as the European Patent Convention , is a multilateral treaty instituting the European Patent Organisation and providing an autonomous legal system according to which European patents are granted...

 (EPC) require something different.

"The procedure concerning the divisional application is in principle independent from the procedure concerning the parent application and the divisional application is treated as a new application.... Although there are some connections between the two procedures (e.g. concerning time limits), actions (or omissions) occurring in the procedure concerning the parent application after the filing of the divisional application should not influence the procedure concerning the latter...."

The practice relating to the filing of divisional applications under the EPC was clarified by the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the EPO

Appeal procedure before the European Patent Office

Decisions of the first instances of the European Patent Office can be appealed, i.e. challenged, before the Boards of Appeal of the EPO, in a judicial procedure , as opposed to an administrative procedure. These boards act as the final instances in the granting and opposition procedures before the...

 in June 2007. The Board held that a divisional application which on filing contained subject-matter extending beyond the content of the earlier application as filed could be amend

Amendments under the European Patent Convention

Article 123 of the European Patent Convention relates to the amendments under the EPC, i.e. the amendments to a European patent application or patent, and notably the conditions under which they are allowable...

ed later to remove the deficiency, even at a time when the earlier application is no longer pending.

United States

In the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, a divisional application is seen as a type of continuing patent application

Continuing patent application

Under United States patent law, a continuing patent application is a patent application which follows, and claims priority to, an earlier filed patent application....

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