European Patent Office Repeals 24-Month Time Limit for Filing of Divisional Applications

The European Patent Organisation announced on 18 October 2013 an amendment to Rule 36 of the European Patent Convention, thereby revising the time requirement for filing divisional patent applications with European Patent Office (EPO).

Specifically, the current time limit for divisional application filings of 24 months from the issuance of the first examination report on an application is repealed. In other words, a divisional application may be filed as long as its parent application is pending.

The amended rule will apply to divisional applications filed with EPO on or after 1 April 2014.