What is a Provisional Patent?
A provisional patent is a type of U. S. national patent that establishes an early effective filing date over the prior art. A provisional patent application has a pendency lasting 12 months from the date the provisional application is filed. A corresponding non-provisional patent application must be filed during the 12-month provisional pendency period in order to benefit from the earlier filing of the provisional application. A provisional patent may be thought of as a “place-holder” at the USPTO, until a non-provisional application is filed. During the 1-year period of pendency, the inventor(s) can continue to develop the invention while JHTT begins the marketing process and seeks potential licensees. For more information CLICK HERE to go to the USPTO web site.
Related Questions
- All I need to do to file a provisional patent application is file a picture of my invention along with a short description, right?
- What is the difference between a provisional patent, a utility patent and a design patent?
- What is the difference between a provisional and nonprovisional patent application?
