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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D">Very helpful insight.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D">Thanks Janice!
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none">From:</span></b><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none"> Pct [mailto:pct-bounces@oppedahl-lists.com]
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Janice Kelland via Pct<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, March 04, 2025 10:23 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> pct@oppedahl-lists.com<br>
<b>Cc:</b> Janice Kelland <Janice.Kelland@moffatco.com><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [Pct] question about Canadian practice [divisionals of divisionals] -- maybe someone on this list knows<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">Canadian double patenting practice is indeed a different beast.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">Bill, the short answer to your question is that you can file a divisional of an original patent application as long as the parent or a valid divisional application of that parent is still pending (i.e. up to the day before
the day the latest pending divisional application issues as a patent or is irrevocably abandoned with no chance of reinstatement). So you can “daisy-chain” the divisional filings and file them serially as validly as you can file them concurrently.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">But whether your patents are immunized from double patenting depends, not on if they were filed serially or concurrently, but on whether the claims of each of the divisionals are “directed to a different invention” from
each other. Having a lack of unity objection issued by a Canadian patent examiner provides some evidence of this, but some recent case law seems to indicate that a court could still find later that the claims of two divisional patents granted by the Canadian
Patent Office (CIPO) are not directed to different inventions, despite a lack of unity objection issued by an examiner during prosecution of a parent application identifying the claims as such.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">Jeff, your point regarding whether a PCT lack of unity finding would protect a divisional against a double patenting objection or challenge is interesting. Canadian examiners sometimes do reiterate PCT lack of unity objections
(along with lack of novelty or inventive step objections issued in the IPRP) in the first office action of a Canadian national entry application, if the claims being examined are still the original PCT claims. However, since the IPRP may have been issued from
an ISA or IPEA in a jurisdiction where lack of unity practice is different than in Canada, I wouldn’t rely on a PCT lack of unity finding alone to protect you from double patenting under Canadian law, unless the objection also comes from a Canadian examiner.
Certainly, many restriction requirements issued by US examiners would not be considered “different inventions” under Canadian law.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">Like the Canadian counsel you mention, Jeff, I generally recommend putting all the claims you might want allowed (or at least all the independent claims, to save on excess claims fees) in the parent application and allowing
the Canadian examiner to decide whether they are “directed to different inventions” – if not, the parent application might be your only opportunity to get the claims in Canada.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">Hope this is helpful,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">Janice<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">Janice G. Kelland</span></i></b><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">
</span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">|<b>
</b>Partner, Patent Agent</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">Ph.D. (Chemistry), M.L.I.S. (she/her)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">Message: 1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2025 16:08:59 +0000 (UTC)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">From: William Ahmed <<a href="mailto:ahmed.william@ymail.com">ahmed.william@ymail.com</a>><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">To: for Users of the Patent Cooperation Treaty<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA"> <<a href="mailto:pct@oppedahl-lists.com">pct@oppedahl-lists.com</a>><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">Subject: [Pct] question about Canadian practice [divisionals of<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA"> divisionals] -- maybe someone on this list knows<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">Message-ID: <<a href="mailto:547996491.3882368.1741104539113@mail.yahoo.com">547996491.3882368.1741104539113@mail.yahoo.com</a>><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">I have a question for any Canada-licensed patent attorney on this list.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">Background --> Canada has a known challenge related to double patenting, and unlike USA there is no objection of submitting a terminal disclaimer to obvvercome.As such it is not uncommon for applicants to provoke a
'unity of invention' objection - the CA examiner then splits it up into many inventions, and then neither of them?can be references against each other for double patenting. Then the applicant just file many divisionals..<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">My issue ->?PCT entered Canadian national phase. Applicant has now split it up into 7 inventions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">I think if I then file 6 divisionals at ONCE, I am OK - the unity of invention objection would protect these divisionals from each other (and from the PCT national phase filing)with respect to Canadian double patenting.
However, that is a lot of cash paid now, instead of 'spacing it out' over years.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">MY QUESTION --> instead of filing 6 divisionals at ONCE (i.e. in parallel), could I do it in SERIAL (i.e. first a divisional, and then a divisional of divisional, and then a divisional of divisional of divisional),
and so one.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">If I file in SERIAL (i.e. 1st generation DIV, then 2nd generation DIV), would I achieve the 'benefit' of immunity from double patenting in Canada based on the?'large unity of invention requirement' in the PCT national
phase filing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">I hope this was clear - it is NUANCED, and I hope I successfully explained the issues.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">NOTE -- some jurisdictions like Japan treat divisionals and divisionals-of-divisionals the SAME. In other jurisdictions (e.g. China) there is a disctinction.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">Thanks,Bill<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">Message: 2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2025 11:26:42 -0500<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">From: Jeffrey Semprebon <<a href="mailto:jesemprebon@gmail.com">jesemprebon@gmail.com</a>><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">To: "For users of the PCT and ePCT. This is not for laypersons to seek<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA"> legal advice." <<a href="mailto:pct@oppedahl-lists.com">pct@oppedahl-lists.com</a>><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">Subject: Re: [Pct] question about Canadian practice [divisionals of<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA"> divisionals] -- maybe someone on this list knows<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">Message-ID:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA"> <<a href="mailto:CAO06Bycmvf_Hkfx8+msc7RDtHvB7Tci=LX_A3zHHzFfm3TjzwQ@mail.gmail.com">CAO06Bycmvf_Hkfx8+msc7RDtHvB7Tci=LX_A3zHHzFfm3TjzwQ@mail.gmail.com</a>><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">Hi Bill,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">It's unclear whether this separation was done on the applicant's initiative or was responsive to a Canadian action.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">Advice I got some years back from one Canadian counsel as to whether one could rely on a PCT finding of lack of unity to avoid the dreaded double-patenting rejection was that they hadn't found sufficient caselaw to
provide a definite answer. As such, their advice was to enter w/ claims to all the inventions (although not necessary dependent claims, since CA no longer allows cramming in as many claims as possible w/ no excess fees) and leave it to the examiner to restrict.
Slower, but safer. Of course, if every applicant follows this, the issue of whether or not a PCT lack of unity suffices will remain unanswered.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">-Jeff<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">Jeffrey E. Semprebon<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">Registered Patent Agent (mechanical) looking for remote work
<a href="mailto:jesemprebon@gmail.com">jesemprebon@gmail.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">72 Myrtle Street<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang="EN-CA">Claremont, New Hampshire 03743<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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