Article 50
Division of the application
- The applicant may divide the application by declaring that some of the goods or services
included in the original application will be the subject of one or more divisional
applications. The goods or services in the divisional application shall not overlap with the
goods or services which remain in the original application or those which are included in
other divisional applications.
- The declaration of division shall not be admissible:
- (a) if, where an opposition has been entered against the original application, such a
divisional application has the effect of introducing a division amongst the goods or
services against which the opposition has been directed, until the decision of the
Opposition Division has become final or the opposition proceedings are finally
terminated otherwise;
- (b) before the date of filing referred to in Article 32 has been accorded by the Office and
during the opposition period provided for in Article 46(1).
- The declaration of division shall be subject to a fee. The declaration shall be deemed not to
have been made until the fee has been paid.
- Where the Office finds that the requirements laid down in paragraph 1 and in the rules
adopted pursuant to paragraph 9(a) are not fulfilled, it shall invite the applicant to remedy
the deficiencies within a period to be specified by the Office. If the deficiencies are not
remedied before the time limit expires, the Office shall refuse the declaration of division.
- The division shall take effect on the date on which it is recorded in the files kept by the
Office concerning the original application.
- All requests and applications submitted and all fees paid with regard to the original
application prior to the date on which the Office receives the declaration of division are
deemed also to have been submitted or paid with regard to the divisional application or
applications. The fees for the original application which have been duly paid prior to the
date on which the declaration of division is received shall not be refunded.
- The divisional application shall preserve the filing date and any priority date and seniority
date of the original application.
- Where the declaration of division relates to an application which has already been
published pursuant to Article 44, the division shall be published. The divisional application
shall be published. The publication shall not open a new period for the filing of
oppositions.
- The Commission shall adopt implementing acts specifying:
- (a) the details to be contained in a declaration of the division of an application made
pursuant to paragraph 1;
- (b) the details as to how to process a declaration of the division of an application,
ensuring that a separate file, including a new application number, is established for
the divisional application;
- (c) the details to be contained in the publication of the divisional application pursuant to
paragraph 8.
Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure
referred to in Article 207(2).