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What is a provisional patent application?
Click here to file your own provisional patent application
Great ideas happen every day. But the idea, invention, or process isn't always credited to the person who came up
with it first. Sometimes, someone overhears an idea. Sometimes you're so excited, you'll tell anyone who will
listen about it. And sometimes, believe it or not, someone else will come up with the same invention at just about
the same time.
A Provisional Patent Application establishes your priority with a "date of invention." In other words, it tells
the world "This is my invention." The reason it's so important to file a Provisional Patent Application is because
in Patent Law, it's often not the person who came up with the idea first who wins – it's the person who takes
action and files the patent application first.
The advantage of a provisional patent is that it's much faster and easier to file than a standard patent
application. A standard patent application can take months to prepare, and it can cost $5,000 or more. With a
provisional patent, you will have 12 months to file a full patent application, and you can legally announce to
the world: "patent pending."
Furthermore, you can tell people about the idea, seek funding to develop the invention, even begin selling the
invention, with confidence that your invention is protected. This way, you can assess the invention's complete
potential before spending significant sums of money on the full patent, not to mention money on marketing and
distribution.
A provisional patent application was designed to solve an age-old problem. You want to see if your invention has
commercial appeal, but if you tell people, you run the risk they will “steal” the idea. Non-disclosure agreements
can help, but not everyone is willing to sign one.
Before 1995, inventors could either build the invention themselves, or they could file a full patent application
before telling anyone about their invention. However, there were significant problems with both approaches. First,
it’s time-consuming and expensive to build a working prototype, especially one based on new technologies. Second,
hiring an attorney to prepare a full patent application can cost thousands of dollars.
The solution was the Provisional Patent Application. According to the U.S. Patent Office, a provisional patent is
designed to provide a “lower-cost first patent filing in the United States.” A provisional patent lets you quickly
secure an initial filing date for your invention and legally allows you to use the words “patent pending.” 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 back” to the date you filed your provisional patent application. In other words, if
you filed your provisional patent application on January 1, 2004 and then file your full patent application on
December 31, 2004, the full patent will be deemed to have been filed on January 1st.
If you decide not to move forward with your patent, then you can simply abandon it, knowing your upfront costs
were minimal.
Click here to file your own provisional patent application
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