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Filing For A Provisional Patent

Cautions

By , About.com Guide

  • Provisional applications are not examined on their merits.

  • The benefits of the provisional application cannot be claimed if the one-year deadline for filing a non-provisional application has expired.

  • Provisional applications cannot claim the benefit of a previously-filed application, either foreign or domestic.

  • It is recommended that the disclosure of the invention in the provisional application be as complete as possible. In order to obtain the benefit of the filing date of a provisional application the claimed subject matter in the later filed non-provisional application must have support in the provisional application.

  • If there are multiple inventors, each inventor must be named in the application.

  • The inventor(s) named in the provisional application must have made a contribution to the invention as described. If multiple inventors are named, each inventor named must have made a contribution individually or jointly to the subject matter disclosed in the application.

  • The non-provisional application must have one inventor in common with the inventor(s) named in the provisional application to claim benefit of the provisional application filing date.

  • A provisional application must be entitled to a filing date and include the basic filing fee in order for a non-provisional application to claim benefit of that provisional application.

  • There is a surcharge for filing the basic filing fee or the cover sheet on a date later than filing the provisional application.

  • Provisional applications for patent may not be filed for design inventions.

  • Amendments are not permitted in provisional applications after filing, other than those to make the provisional application comply with applicable regulations.

  • No information disclosure statement may be filed in a provisional application.

  • A provisional application cannot result in a U. S. patent unless one of the following two events occur within 12 months of the provisional application filing date:
    1. a corresponding non-provisional application for patent entitled to a filing date is filed that claims the benefit of the earlier filed provisional application or
    2. a grantable petition under patent rule 37 CFR 1.53(c)(3) to convert the provisional application into a non-provisional application is filed.

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