Key terms of Patent Act Term #4: Ante Dating

1. Term #4
Ante-Dating
u/s 16 of
Indian Patents Act 1970
Key Terms of Indian Patents Act
Ms Bindu Sharma, Founder & CEOSpeaker

2. To assign a date to an
event, that is earlier than
its previously assigned
date.
Ante-Dating

3. Section 16: Power of Controller to
make orders respecting division of
application
• Basically, one patent application shall
relate only to one invention or a group of
closely related inventions.
• The purpose of this requirement is
administrative, as well as financial.
• The requirement serves to prevent the
option of filing one patent application for
several inventions, while paying only one
set of fees.

4. Section 16: Power of Controller to
make orders respecting division of
application
• Unity of invention also makes the
classification of patent documents easier.
• When a patent application is objected on
the ground of a lack of unity, it may be still
considered for patent protection, unlike in
the case where the invention is found to
be lacking novelty.
• A divisional application can usually be filed
for the second invention, and for the
further inventions, if any.

5. Section 16: Power of Controller to
make orders respecting division of
application
Parent
application
Divisional
application 1
Divisional
application 2
Divisional
application 3

6. Illustration
• 15th November 2006Dhruv files for a provisional application
• 13th November 2007Complete specification filing
During examination, the Controller raises the objection that the
invention lacks unity of invention
Application shall be split into 2 applications
• 10th January 2009Date of filing divisional application
• 15th November 2006
Both parent & divisional application will
have priority date

7. To assign a date to an
event, that is earlier than
its previously assigned
date
Ante-Dating

8. Question
What is date of priority of a
Divisional Patent Application?

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