Provisional
Applications for Patent
A provisional application
for patent is a temporary application that offers a relatively quick and
less expensive way (relative to a utility patent application) to officially
file an invention disclosure with the U.S. patent office. It generally provides
an internationally recognized priority date and the status of “patent
pending” for products of the disclosed invention.
Provisional applications
are useful for filing ahead of an imminent public announcement or offering
for sale of the invention, thereby preserving international patent rights
in the invention. They are also useful for securing an early as possible
filing date at a lower initial cost, and for providing a twelve month window
within which to assess commercial interest, search for prior art, further
develop the invention, and prepare a full utility application. As an extra
benefit, the term of the provisional application does not count against the
20-year term (from date of filing) of the subsequent utility patent.
However, a provisional application
for patent is never examined and cannot mature into a patent on it’s
own. Rather, it must be followed by a full utility application filed in the
United States, or in another convention country or region recognizing its
priority status, within twelve months of its filing date. Otherwise, it simply
expires, unpublished and unexamined.
In addition, the contents
of a provisional application must also pass muster to properly support the
claims of the subsequently filed utility application. In particular, the
provisional application must enable those skilled in the field to practice
the invention, and disclose the inventor’s best mode of practicing
the invention. It must also contain a written description that conveys with
reasonable clarity to those skilled in the field that the inventor was in
possession of the claimed invention at the time of filing. No claims are
required, but one or two are recommended to provide focus.
The effort expended in preparing
the provisional application should mitigate the preparation costs of the
subsequent utility application, assuming the invention does not substantially
change in the interim. One important caveat: the priority date afforded by
the provisional application extends only to the subject matter disclosed
in the provisional application. New subject matter added in the related utility
application must stand on its own first date of filing.
Additional Patent Information:
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