Can I re-apply for a patent?

Can I re-apply for a patent?

Matt Dixon (Partner) gives expert video advice on: What is the Patent Office?; When are patents granted?; How do I file for a patent application? and more...

You can certainly re-apply for a patent if your invention is still secret. However, if you have already applied for the patent, your invention will be published 18 months from the earliest application date of your patent application, and so as part of the patent application procedure your invention becomes publicly available. After that publication, you would not be able to apply for further patent. Within the first eighteen months you could reapply, if for any reason there is something wrong with your patent application.