Provisional Patent
Last June 8, 1995, the provisional patent application offered by United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) took effect. Provisional patent application provides a lower-cost first patent filing in the United States and to give U.S. applicants parity with foreign applicants under the GATT Uruguay Round Agreements. Provisional patent application allows filing without a formal patent claim, oath or declaration, or any information disclosure or prior art statement. It also allows the term "Patent Pending" to be applied.
A provisional patent application has a pendency period that will last 12 months from the date the provisional application is filed. The 12-month pendency period cannot be extended. Therefore, an applicant who files a provisional patent application must file a corresponding non-provisional application for patent (non-provisional application) during the 12-month pendency period of the provisional patent application in order to benefit from the earlier filing of the provisional patent application.
Once a provisional patent application is filed, an alternative to filing a corresponding non-provisional application is to convert the provisional application to a non-provisional application by filing a grantable petition requesting such a conversion within 12 months of the provisional application filing date. But converting a provisional patent application to a non-provisional application (versus filing a non-provisional application claiming the benefit of the provisional application) will have a negative impact on patent term. By filing a provisional patent application first, and then filing a corresponding non-provisional application that references the provisional patent application within the 12-month provisional patent application pendency period, a patent term endpoint may be extended by as much as 12 months.
Provisional Patent Application for Patent Filing Date Requirements
The provisional patent application must be made in the name(s) of all of the inventor(s). It can be filed up to one year following the date of first sale, offer for sale, public use, or publication of the invention. (These pre-filing disclosures, although protected in the United States, may preclude patenting in foreign countries.)
A filing date will be accorded to a provisional application only when it contains:
* a written description of the invention, complying with all requirements
* any drawings necessary to understand the invention, complying with requirements
If either of these items are missing or incomplete, no filing date will be accorded to the provisional patent application.
To be complete, a provisional patent application must also include the filing fee and a cover sheet containing the following:
* the application as a provisional patent;
* the name(s) of all inventors;
* inventor residence(s);
* title of the invention;
* name and registration number of attorney or agent and docket number (if applicable);
* correspondence address; and
* any US Government agency that has a property interest in the application.
Patents
37 CFR And Consolidated Patent Rules
Patents
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