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"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." Albert Einstein
Help With Your First Invention - Provisional Patent Application
Introduction
In this article I will try to explain purpose of Provisional Patent Application,
its benefits and drawbacks. Provisional Patent Application allows inventors to
start patent process without incurring the high cost of patent lawyers. However,
because Provisional Applications are simpler to complete then the Regular Patent
Application, it doesn't mean that inventors should take them lightly.
Documenting Your Invention
The reason why you should carefully document your idea is the following - your
Provisional Patent Application may be the only source of proof that you are the
original inventor and entitled to reaping the benefits of the patent. It is very
possible that since the time you have submitted your Provisional Patent Application,
someone else filled out paperwork for regular patent. The only thing that might
substantiate your claim that you are the rightful owner of the invention is your
Provisional Patent Application. One note of caution - Provisional Application is
good for one year only and cannot be renewed. In fact, these applications were
meant to be temporary solution until the inventor submits regular Patent Application
Paperwork.
Facts about Provisional Patent Applications
Below is a Summary of things that inventor should know about Provisional Patent
Applications:
A Provisional Patent application is never examined by the United States Patent
and Trademark Office (USPTO), and therefore can never become a patent.
It may become part of non-provisional application file later on, once you
submit your regular patent application
Automatically expires one year after the original filing date.
Submitting Provisional Patent Application costs $100 for an application having
100 or fewer pages of specification and drawings. Inventors should be prepared
to describe their inventions in great detail; in fact, USPTO recommends that
your invention should be clearly understood by the person of "ordinary skill
in the art" of the invention. This means that your documentation should be
detailed and simple enough to be understood by the person who is averagely
skilled in your field of research. In addition, USPTO encourages inventors
to specify the so-called "The best mode requirement" - meaning that inventor
should disclose the best method used to achieve the desired results. For example,
if invention deals with chemical solution that should be boiled to the temperature
of 300 degrees, then this fact must be documented. It is improper to specify that
the chemical solution should be boiled to the temperature above 200 degrees because
this is not precise and will not lead to the best method of achieving desired
results.
What Is Needed When Submitting Provisional Patent application
When submitting Provisional Patent application, inventor should produce:
Documentation that is detailed enough and clear enough to be understood by the person of "ordinary skill in the art" of the invention
Provisional Patent Application Cover sheet
Technical drawings and graphs pertinent to the invention
List of inventors and co-inventors
Summary
In summary, Provisional Patent Application is a great and cost-effective way for
an inventor to lock his invention for one year and buy some time in order to see
whether invention has commercial potential.
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