Filing a provisional patent gives an inventor time to fine-tune their product to meet the requirements of customers and the market. When an inventor eventually does file a regular patent, they will do so for a product that they know will sell and earn profits and at the same time the product is protected from copyright infringement. The validity of the Provisional Patent application starts from the date of filing the application, and is non-extendable.
Advantages Of Filing A Provisional Patent
Cost: The fees payable for filing a proper Patent vary from $350-$1,000, and the attorney’s fees vary from $3,000 to $20,000. An inventor can draw up the papers for a Provisional Patent himself, thus saving a considerable amount of money.
Documentation: The documentation required for filing a provisional patent application is much less cumbersome than for a regular patent application. However, you should make the effort to make your documentation as complete as possible so that you will have less trouble when filing your documents for a complete patent a year later.
The big difference in the required documentation is that for a provisional patent, you will not need to file any patent claims.
Patent Pending: A Provisional Patent will immediately put the label of “Patent Pending” on your product, therefore protecting it against competitors who may try to file for the same patent.
Time: As an inventor, you have invented a product that you believe is in demand. However, once the invention is complete your product will probably need fine-tuning to cater to the changing needs of the market. Filing a Provisional Patent gives you (the inventor) this much needed time. Another aspect is also that the life of a patent is 20 years. By filing a Provisional Patent for 12 months and then a Patent for 20 years, the effective life of the Patent is 21 years.
How To File for a Provisional Patent
The USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) does not have any official Provisional Patent, forms nor do they offer electronic filing. Parts of the application will need to be written by you or by a professional and you will need to accompany the application with a “provisional cover sheet” and a “fee transmittal form”, which are provided by the USPTO.
During the time that the Provisional Patent is pending, you must file for a corresponding non-Provisional Patent in order to benefit from the earlier filing of the provisional application. Alternately, the provisional application can be converted to a non-provisional application by filing a grantable petition requesting such a conversion within 12 months of the provisional application filing date.
The provisional application must include:
- A description of the invention, though it need not include the claims.
- All drawings necessary to understand the invention
- The names of all inventors
- The appropriate filing fee (approximately $75 for individual inventors); and
- A cover sheet, that is available with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or can be downloaded in PDF format, that identifies the invention.
PatentPro Software is a proven do-it-yourself software that will make this whole process a lot simpler and cheaper for you.
If you believe you have a product that you want to patent, talk to others in a similar situation and look at the pros and cons of filing a Provisional Patent application. Then go ahead and file your papers to safeguard your invention.
