Provisional Utility Patent Application
Provisional Utility Patent Application
Provisional Utility Patent Application
Overview
A Provisional Utility Application is a valuable but preliminary step toward obtaining a Utility Patent to protect how your invention works or is made. Once filed, you will be able to mark your invention as Patent Pending. However, as the name implies, a Provisional Application must always be converted to a Non-Provisional Application for patent to eventually issue. This aspect of Provisional Applications creates the situation whereby (when compared to filing a Non-Provisional Application at the onset) a Provisional is generally less expensive to get to the patent pending stage, but more expensive in the long run to get a patent when you consider you would not need this additional step if you were to file a Non-Provisional Utility Application to begin with.
A Provisional Application, however, is a good way to go if you want to get to the patent pending stage for less of an upfront investment and then take some time to determine if your invention is marketable before committing the additional funds necessary to file the Non-Provisional Application. You have 12 months to make that determination. Meaning, you need to file a Non-Provisional Application 12 months from the filing date of the Provisional Application to eventually obtain a patent. When you do file the Non-Provisional Application within the 12 months, its as if you filed it on the day you file the Provisional Application. And this is a huge benefit if someone has filed an application between your two applications.
Here's why...
Say you file a well drafted Provisional Application for an invention on January 1, 2008.
A competitor discovers the same invention and files a Provisional or Non-Provisional Application on January 31, 2008.
You then file your Non-Provisional Application for the invention, which is fully supported by the earlier filed Provisional Application, on December 31, 2008.
Based on this scenario, you win the priority contest and would have the right to the patent. This is because the Non-Provisional Application that you filed received the benefit of the earlier filed Provisional Applications filing date, which is before the competitor initially filed their application.
You received this benefit because you met TWO requirements:
1.You filed the Non-Provisional Application within 12 months of the Provisionals filing date (barely); AND,
2.The original Provisional Application was well drafted and the later filed Non-Provisional Application was fully supported by the earlier filed
3.Provisional Application.
Provisional Patent Application FAQs
What is a Provisional Patent Application?
As described more fully in the Overview section above, a Provisional Application is a preliminary step toward obtaining a Utility Patent. A Provisional Application will never mature into a Utility Patent application; it must always be converted to a Non-Provisional Application for a utility patent to issue. The period of time to make this conversion is 12 months from the filing date of your Provisional Application.
What does a Provisional Patent Application Protect?
Since a Provisional Application is a preliminary step in obtaining a Utility Patent, a Utility Patent provides an enforceable legal right to prevent others from exploiting the way your invention is made or works.
How long does a Utility Patent last?
A Utility Patent has a term of approximately 17-18 years from the issue date.
About author:
The Patent Office is a collection of registered patent attorneys whose single aim is to protect your invention, product or idea. We will conduct a Patent Search to determine if your invention is new and help you determine the right patent application for you, whether thats a Design Patent Application, Provisional Utility Patent Application, or Non-Provisional Utility Patent Application. We will then prepare a professionally drafted patent application and drawings, and file the patent application with the United States Patent Office, which gets you Patent Pending.
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by: tom taylor
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