NEWSLETTER NUMBER 8

Title:  "What Do I Need To Do To Get A Provisional Patent?"

 

At least 30% or so of the inventors who contact Solve-It! Marketing Company have filed a provisional patent application (PPA).  From their comments we have concluded that a good deal of confusion exists regarding what they think they have accomplished.

First and foremost, there is no such thing as a Provisional Patent, only a Provisional Patent Application.  The application does not require claims, so although you have described your invention, you have not created intellectual property in the form of claims that have been examined and allowed by the patent office.   It will never become a patent (it is automatically abandoned in one year) and it does not start a 20 year patent term running.

From a marketing perspective, the PPA provides the benefit of buying time to study the market (1 year) and claiming that your product is Patent Pending.  The PPA gets you a filing date on which you can later rely, at relatively low cost, while you evaluate your invention and/or try to find out if there is a market for the product or the application.  You can then proceed with a search which will lead to a more refined formal application.  However, you should bear in mind that any material which is not in the provisional application will not be entitled to the earlier filing date.  Your provisional should be as complete as you can make it, even if it is not formally acceptable as a conventional patent application.

We suggest that all inventors considering filing a PPA thoroughly research its benefits and features and consult with an attorney if necessary, to determine if this is the right vehicle to use to accomplish your objectives.  There is a great deal of information available on the PPA on the internet and several law firms host web pages describing it in detail.

If there are questions you would like to have answered in future newsletters, please submit them to harold@solve-itmarketing.com and we will do our best to include them.

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