Provisional Patent Application Advantages
Below is a list of the Provisional Patent Application advantages..
Or… why you should file a Provisional Patent Application BEFORE you file a Non-Provisional Patent…
First… You need to know that patent attorneys do not LOVE provisional patent applications, PPA’s, because there is no path for future revenue! This is because once they file your PPA (for the measly fee of $125.00 to the USPTO, as of Sept 26, 2011) there are no further fees they can justifiably charge you because there are no “Office Actions” ( Office Actions are where much of the revenue is made by patent attorneys) in a PPA. This is because a provisional patent application is NEVER reviewed or made public until you claim it when you file your non provisional patent application claiming the benefit of the filing date of your provisional patent application.
However, there are a very few SMART attorneys who understand if they help you when you file a PPA you will likely come back to them when you convert your PPA to a non-provisional patent application. The problem is there are NOT that many SMART attorneys around.. Kind of like there are not many Tiger Woods around in golf… Some lawyers will get very “huffy” if you insist on filing a provisional patent application! If they do then just know they are not the sharpest knife in the drawer.. Seek someone else IMMEDIATELY…
By the way.. To see EXACTLY how to file a provisional patent application yourself and/or prepare everything you need to give your attorney please see the Provisional Patent Video Course. You can do this part on your own. In fact, when you do this part you will find you will be MUCH MORE informed and prepared if you DO wan to employ an attorney!
Second: Why would you spend $10,000 on a non-provisional patent BEFORE you know that your patent covers EXACTLY what your inventive idea is or if it is viable? Congresses spirit of a Provisional Patent Application is to give you “Patent Pending” rights for one year so that you can gather funds to be able to afford the non-provisional patent application process.
Frequently, patent attorneys will say you can not modify your provisional patent application. Well DUH! you can not modify (or add “new matter” to a non-provisional patent application either, so why do they so frequently mention this!?. The answer is because they want to “scare” you into skipping the provisional patent application process that you can do on your own. If you hear this find another attorney or do it yourself. Trust me, Congress WANTS you to file a PPA in hopes that YOU make a TON of money so you pay more TAXES.. It’s ALL about MONEY…
Most IMPORTANTLY what you CAN do inexpensively with a provisional patent application, but can NOT do with the non-provisional patent application is you can simply file ANOTHER provisional patent application naming the new elements of your inventive idea. Of course the filing date will be 1 year from the date you file your NEW PPA. For $125 this is a simple insurance policy for your invention.
The Provisional Patent Application allows you to describe your inventive art in such a way that you can actually describe more than one inventive idea that is patentable! This is EXTRAORDINARY because you can describe what you THINK might be what you want to market but later on discover you want to focus on another element of the inventive art.
In this way one of the provisional patent application advantages is that you can create a “defensive” and “proactive” Intellectual property protection strategy to allow for variabilities in your inventive idea. Let’s say you your inventive art is for an improvement to a windshield wiping system that allows the windshield wiper to come on intermittently by turning a knob. In a single provisional patent application you could ALSO mention that the windshield wiper ALSO comes on intermittently based on a sensor that senses the presence of rain. In the eyes of the USPTO you actually have TWO inventions. One invention is for an intermittent windshield iper system, using a knob, and yet another for a system that senses the presence of rain so you do not have to use the knob to get the windshield wipers to work intermittently. These are TWO COMPLETELY separate patents! In the end your SINGLE provisional patent application could cover BOTH inventions! All this for $125 as of Sept 26, 2011!
This is the concept of Proactive Intellectual Property Protection that can be available to YOU, the individual inventor ,when you know what you are doing. These strategies are explained in the Provisional Patent Video Course so that you can compete with the big guys on a shoestring budget.
Needless to say ,some patent attorneys do not like that I am telling you this information and the SMARTER ones are praising the course, and even sharing it with potential clients, so that they can gain them as a customer when they convert their PPA to a non-provisional patent application.
Some elements you might want to understand about Provisional Patent Applications are as follows:
- The Provisional Patent Application is NOT a patent. It is an application giving you the right to claim the filing date of your provisional patent application for your Non-Provisional patent application, thereby giving you one EXTRA year of “protection”. When you get a “patent” you are granted monopolistic rights to your inventive idea and have the right to defend your ownership by citing the patent as your defense.
- The USPTO filing fees of just $125.00, as of Sept 26, 2011, (with Micro Entity potential of $62.50 coming soon..) allow you to pur “Patent Pending” on your inventive idea.
- The Provisional Patent Application gives you a one-year window to allow you to set up marketing, development, fund raising to determine viability to procede with a non-provisional patent application.
- The Provisional Patent Application gives you the right to put ”Patent Pending” on your product to ward off competition while establishing a presence safely WITHOUT having to deal with NDA’s
- The Provisional Patent Application defers all examination costs and fees for one year if you choose to convert your PPA to an NPA.
- The Provisional Patent Application effectively adds an additional year to the life of a patent
- There is no need to include the formal oath or declaration in the Provisional Patent Application.
- There is no need to include claims in the Provisional Patent Application
A high Quality Provisional Patent Application includes:
- A complete Specification
- A complete set of Drawings
- A single claim. This is VERY RARE and not required AT ALL.. And could be deleterious if improperly drafted.
- The profound awareness and tracking of the deadline to file a non-provisional patent application claiming the Provisional Patent Application filing date.
Disadvantages of a Provisional Patent Application includes:
- You can not claim priority from any other application.
- The USPTO will not examine your PPA until you convert it to a non-provisional application. This is ACTUALLY an advantage in my view!
