The term Anti dating refers to assign a date to an event that is earlier than its previously assigned date. This term is mostly used in Indian Patent law with respect to the divisional application.
Generally, a divisional application is filed when a patent application contains more than one invention. Section 16 of the Indian Patents Act defines the provisions related to divisional application.
According to Section 16 [Power of the Controller to make orders respecting division of application], when an application made by applicant claims more than one invention, the applicant on his own or to meet the official objection during examination of patent application by the examiner, may divide the application and file two or more applications, as applicable for each of the inventions. This type of application, divided out of the parent one, is called a Divisional Application. The priority date for all the divisional applications will be same as that claimed by the Parent Application and this concept of claiming priority from the earlier filed application is called as Ante-dating.
For Example:
- Date of filing provisional application and priority date: 15th November 2006
- Date of filing complete specification: 13th November 2007
- Upon examination of the application, the Controller raises the objection that the invention lacks unity of invention and hence, the application should be split into 2 applications i.e., main or parent application and divisional application.
- Applicant again files the divisional application on 10th Jan 2009
- In such a case, both parent application and divisional application will have priority date of 15th November 2006 even though the divisional application was filed 10th Jan 2009.
So, this assignment of earlier date to the divisional application is called as Ante-dating.
Section 16 [Power of Controller to make orders respecting division of application], also says that an applicant, at any time [before the grant of the patent], if he so desires, or with a view to remedy the objection raised by the Controller on the ground that the claims of the complete specification relate to more than one invention, file a further application in respect of an invention disclosed in the provisional or complete specification already filed in respect of the first mentioned application.
One patent application shall have one invention but if the applicant has filed more than one invention in one patent, the Controller may ask the application to divide the application and file separate application for each invention. Such application, which has been divided from the main application, is called as divisional application [Section-16]. In such a case priority date of the divisional application is same as priority date of the main application.
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