A provisional patent application is a filing option available to inventors seeking to protect their inventions temporarily before filing a non-provisional patent application.
A provisional patent application does not result in the granting of a patent. It serves as a placeholder and provides a priority date for the invention. Without one, the novelty of an invention will be judged against the filing date of an inventor’s non-provisional patent application, which can take a year or more to craft.
Why make this effort?
A provisional patent application provides a temporary form of protection for an invention. It establishes an early filing date with the patent office, giving the inventor a “patent pending” status for their invention.
This allows the inventor to publicly disclose and market their invention while retaining the option to file a non-provisional patent application within one year. If the inventor’s non-provisional application is not filed within one year of the provisional application’s filing date, that provisional date will be nullified.
The filing of a provisional patent application establishes a one-year period during which the inventor can further develop the invention, assess its market potential and evaluate the need for patent protection. Within this timeframe, the inventor must file a non-provisional patent application to formally seek patent protection for their invention.
Provisional patent applications feature lower filing fees and less formal requirements compared to non-provisional applications. This can be advantageous for inventors who want to secure an early filing date while they further refine and assess their invention’s commercial viability. It also gives an inventor time to seek professional guidance to better ensure that their non-provisional patent application is both complete and likely to be approved by the U.S. Trademark and Patent Office.
