What is a “provisional” patent application?
A provisional application for patent is a U.S. national application for patent filed in the PTO under 35 U.S.C. 111(b). It allows filing without a formal patent claim, oath or declaration, or any information or prior art disclosure. It provides the means to establish an early effective filing date in a patent application and allows the term “Patent Pending” to be applied.
The provisional patent application is an application that can be filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that establishes the effective filing date of a patent application. The provisional application is not examined by the USPTO, and may remain pending for one year. At the end of the period, NCSU must elect to either drop the filing and allow the information to become public or convert the provisional application to a regular patent application. In the case NCSU, the OTT will work with the inventors to make this decision on behalf of NCSU.
The provisional patent application is an application that can be filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that establishes the effective filing date of a patent application. The provisional application is not examined by the USPTO, and may remain pending for one year. At the end of the period, LEHIGH must elect to either drop the filing and allow the information to become public or convert the provisional application to a regular patent application. In the case LEHIGH, the OTT will work with the inventors to make this decision on behalf of LEHIGH.
A Provisional Patent Application is filed in the Patent & Trademark office and given a filing date and unlike a Utility Patent will not be examined or searched, it does not automatically start a Utility Patent, and it is abandoned in one year, which necessitates the decision of whether to file for a Utility Patent or not.
Effective June 8, 1995, as a consequence of the adherence of the U.S. to GATT, it is possible to file what is called a Provisional Patent Application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The Provisional Patent Application is intended to be a relatively low-cost way of postponing the cost and effort of drafting and filing a full patent application. The provisional application need not contain claims, and the filing fee is modest ($150 for large entities, $75 for small entities). The applicant may then wait almost a year before filing a patent application. The twenty-year patent term that runs from the first U.S. filing date does not start with the provisional application, but instead begins only with the date of the subsequent patent application. As a result, one may postpone the start of the 20-year patent term by up to one year by the use of a provisional patent application. The provisional application may serve as a priority document for non-US convention filings. Under U.S. pa
