If a Chinese application (parent application) has been rejected for more than one year, and its divisional application has been filed, when can the applicant file another divisional application from the first filed divisional application?

Answer:

A divisional application can be filed arbitrarily as long as the parent application is pending. If the parent application has been granted or rejected (as the situation of the Question), the applicant cannot file a divisional application based on the parent application or on the first filed divisional application.

However, if there is a defect of unity in the first divisional application, and upon the request of the examiner, the applicant has a chance to file a divisional application from the first filed divisional even if the parent application has been granted or rejected.