Question: What is the difference - provisional or non-provisional patent application?
Answer: The non-provisional application establishes the filing date of your patent application and begins the examination process. Your patent application will be examined by the USPTO.
A provisional application only establishes your filing date and expires automatically after one year. You may file a provisional application when you are not ready to enter your application into the regular examination process.
A provisional application establishes a filing date at a lower cost for a first patent application filing in the United States.
A provisional application allows the term "Patent Pending" to be applied to your invention.
