How to File for a Provisional Patent

Here is some information if you are not sure what a provisional patent application is; a provisional patent application allows filing without any formal patent claims, oath, or any information disclosure (like art work) or statement. It provides the means to establish an early effective filing date in a non-provisional patent application (Patent application). It also allows the term “Patent Pending” to be applied.

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Note: When filing a provisional patent, care should be taken to ensure that the disclosure filed as the provisional application clearly provides a written description of the full scope of the invention and desired to be claimed when filing for the non-provisional application (Patent application.)

Once you file a provisional patent you have up to 12 months to test your new invention/product on the market and meanwhile if you see that your product was received well and many people want to purchase your new product then you must file for a “PATENT “this is crucial and you must file right before your 12 months are up.

Filing a Provisional Patent is a great way to get your invention tested in the market before you start spending so much money. This will give you an idea how the public will respond to your invention/ product, before you invest a lot of time and money like thousands of dollars if not hundreds of thousands.

How To File

I will advice; there are no official forms or electronic filing available for a provisional patent application.  The application will need to be written by you (you easily could do this…no need to hire a professional) or by a professional (hey, if you have the extra money to spend then is ok to hire a professional) and you will need to accompany the application with a “provisional cover sheet” and a “fee transmittal form”, which are USPTO provided (go to www.uspto.gov .)

*** COST for a “Provisional Patent Application” ***
The filing fee due to the United States Patent Office at the time of filing is only $110

Very affordable…there is no need to spend thousands of dollars to test your invention on the market. Once file you could start using “Patent Pending”.

• Never disclose your invention / idea to anyone until you have at least filed a provisional patent application. If you do decide to disclose your invention/ idea to anyone (this includes family, friends, colleagues, investors or just simply ANYONE) before filing a provisional patent, always make sure to have them sign a NON DISCLOSURE FORM. You could write one up yourself and then have them sign it.

Best wishes to you with your New Invention!

TIPS

* Never disclose your invention / idea to anyone until you have at least filed a provisional patent application.