Operation of Divisional Applications (Supplement)｜IP Laws & Practices

As previously reported in our Newsletter and website, from April 2023, the Japan Patent Office (JPO) commences the operation of suspension of examinations for divisional applications whose original applications are pending in an appeal.

If the applicant or agent wishes to request application of the operation, it is required to complete predetermined procedures to the JPO within 5 business days from the date of the Request for Examination of the divisional application.

However, according to the JPO's officer in charge, the new operation of suspending the examination of the divisional application is NOT designed to be withdrawn later, for the time being at least.
Therefore, once the request is accepted, the examination will be suspended until three months after the result of the re-examination or the appeal for the original application is issued, even if the applicant subsequently wishes to start the examination.

K&P's Comments
As described above, since the new operation of suspending the examination of the divisional application is NOT designed to be withdrawn later, for the time being at least, the applicant or agent needs to fully consider whether to file the request.

Kawaguti & Partners