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Since June 8, 1995, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (the USPTO) has accepted a simplified form of patent application, called a "Provisional." No Patent ever issues as the result of filing a Provisional, so why would an inventor ever want to file a Provisional Application?
To begin with, the filing fee is nominal: only $110 for individual inventors and other so-called "small entities," and only $220 for large entities. Filing a full-blown Utility Application costs a minimum of $545 for small entities, and a minimum of $1090 for large entities -- and can cost considerably more depending on the number and type of claims included in the Utility Application.
Filing a Provisional establishes a filing date in the USPTO that can be taken advantage of by a Utility Application filed within one year of the Provisional. And the 20-year clock that begins running on the expiration of the term of a resulting Utility Patent begins running not when the Provisional is filed, but rather when a follow-on Utility Application eventually is filed.
The year that can pass between when Provisional and Utility Applications are filed can be put to good use. The invention can be developed, improved and enhanced during this time, and the resulting developments, improvements and enhancements can be described in a series of Provisional Applications filed from time to time during the year. When a Utility Application eventually is filed within one year of the earliest-filed Provisional, the benefit of the filing dates of each of the Provisionals can be claimed in the Utility Application. Thus, improvement features can gain the benefit of a series of early filing dates all being prior to the actual filing date of a follow-on Utility Application.
Because Provisional Applications need not include an Abstract, Claims or Oath, and because the drawings of a Provisional will not be criticized or required to be corrected by the USPTO merely because they are informal in appearance, the contents (text and drawings) of a Provisional can take a simpler, less rigorous format than is required of Utility Applications.
To be complete, a Provisional must include the required filing fee, a cover sheet specifying that the application is a Provisional Application, a written description of the invention, and drawings if needed to understand the invention. Care must be taken to ensure that the Provisional properly supports the subject matter that will eventually be claimed in a follow-on Utility Application, otherwise the benefit of the filing date of the Provisional will not apply to the Utility Application.
Because Provisional Applications are not examined by the USPTO on their merits, the paperwork you receive from the USPTO following your filing of a Provisional Application may be limited to a simple Filing Receipt. Because the USPTO provides no "reminders," it remains your responsibility to attend in a timely manner to the filing of a follow-on Utility Application, and to ensure that the Utility Application properly makes reference to and claims the benefit of the filing date of your earlier-filed Provisional Application.
If you are developing an invention and plan to file a Utility Application to protect its features, filing one or more Provisional Applications during the development period to establish early USPTO filing dates that can be relied on by the follow-on Utility Application can be a sensible precaution to take, especially if you are concerned that a competitor is actively working to develop a similar invention or improvement that, if patented, is likely to obstruct the marketing of your invention. Being the first to file a patent application can be beneficial, and filing a Provisional is often the simplest, easiest and least expensive way to obtain an early filing date.