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According to the U.S. Patent Office, a provisional patent
is designed to provide a ¿lower-cost first patent filing
in the United States.î A provisional patent lets you quickly
secure an initial filing date for your invention and legally
allows you to use the words ¿patent pending.î These words
serve as a strong warning that anyone who copies your
invention risks patent infringement.
Once a provisional patent application is filed, you have
12 months to test your idea and seek funding before filing
a full patent application. If you choose to file the full
patent before the end of the 12-month period, the filing
date can ¿relate backî to the date you filed your provisional
patent application.
Since June 8, 1995, the United States Patent and Trademark
Office (USPTO) has offered inventors the option of filing
a provisional application for patent which was designed
to provide a lower-cost first patent filing in the United
States and to give U.S. applicants parity with foreign
applicants under the GATT Uruguay Round Agreements.
A provisional application for patent is a U. S. national
application for patent filed in the USPTO under 35 U.S.C.
‚111(b). It allows filing without a formal patent claim,
oath or declaration, or any information disclosure (prior
art) statement. It provides the means to establish an
early effective filing date in a non-provisional patent
application filed under 35 U.S.C. ‚111(a). It also allows
the term "Patent Pending" to be applied.
Features
- provides simplified filing with a lower initial investment
with one full year to assess the inventionŽs commercial
potential before committing to the higher cost of filing
and prosecuting a non-provisional application for patent;
- establishes an official United States patent application
filing date for the invention;
- permits one yearŽs authorization to use "Patent Pending"
notice in connection with the invention;
- begins the Paris Convention priority year;
- enables immediate commercial promotion of the invention
with greater security against having the invention stolen;
- preserves application in confidence without publication
in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 122(b), effective November
29, 2000;
- permits applicant to obtain USPTO certified copies;
- allows for the filing of multiple provisional applications
for patent and for consolidating them in a single ‚111(a)
non-provisional application for patent;
- provides for submission of additional inventor names
by petition if omission occurred without deceptive intent
(deletions are also possible by petition).
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Online information resources. Patents-i.net
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