How A Provisional Patent Application Performs?

• Acquire a Filing Date from the US Patent Office

With the invention, it all relates directly to who came up with the idea first. The first-to-file concept, used in the US, states that it is more essential to have a patent application filed first than to have the invention. You can get a filing date by submitting a provisional patent application, allowing you to submit your application in advance of other companies, if possible.

• lasts for a year

A request for a provisional patent “saves the date” for an entire year. Only one year has been saved for that date. To claim the date protected by the provisional patent before it expires, you must file a non-provisional patent application. If you do this, it will be as if your non-provisional patent was filed at the same time as your provisional patent. The filing date of the provisional patent will be converted to the non-provisional patent. However, the date kept by the provisional patent disappears if a non-provisional application is not submitted before the provisional application expires.

• Discounted Price

Because it has lesser requirements than a non-provisional patent, a provisional patent is a little less expensive to file. Many inventors initially submit a lower provisional patent application; then, they raise money to file a complete non-provisional application.

• faster to file

Because it has fewer filing requirements than a non-provisional patent application, a provisional patent can usually be submitted more rapidly. Many inventors quickly submit a provisional patent before presenting their creations at a public event or website. After that, take the chance to request that a non-provisional patent be submitted before the provisional patent expires 12 months when it was filed.

• Status of patent pending

A provisional patent will help the inventor to lawfully use the phrase “patent pending,” notifying others that a patent application has previously been received.

6. No patent rights as of yet.

But remember that a provisional patent application is not yet a patent, and you are not eligible to use someone to steal your patent. It functions as a “save the date.” Actual patent rights are only provided upon filing a non-provisional patent  and confirmation by the US Patent Office.

7. Short-Term Protection

The fact that your idea has been filed with the US Patent Office for an entire year gives it security. You will be at the front line for qualifying for a patent before anyone else who applies the same idea. But you can only enjoy this security if you submit a non-provisional patent before the 12-month time limit for your provisional patent has expired. The provisional patent’s filing date disappears, and you lose your protection if you don’t file a non-provisional patent before it expires.

8. Global

Not only does a provisional patent save a filing date that can be used by a non-provisional patent submitted within 12 months in the United States, but the filing date can also be applied to most nations worldwide. For example, if you submit a Canadian patent application before your US provisional patent expires, the Canadian application would be allowed to use the filing date saved by the US provisional patent.

9. Not Tested

Because the provisional patent is not inspected, the US Patent and Trademark Office cannot notify you if your invention qualifies for a patent. The provisional patent is simply a “save the date,” saving a filing date that may be used by a non-provisional patent application filed later, during 12 months of the provisional patent.