For 99% of inventors, filing a provisional patent is a smart decision. But what exactly is a provisional patent? What separates it from a “real patent?” The short answer is: a few hundred dollars and a lot less paperwork. But there’s more to it than just that. A provisional patent is a way for you to stake your claim, to get your application into the USPTO’s system, while you decide whether it would be worth it to get full patent protection.If you have ever seen a label that read “Patent Pending”, you know what a provisional patent is. For 12 months, you get the full protection a patent offers. In that time, smart inventors hustle to see whether or not there is a real market demand for their invention. If nobody is all that interested, they know it would be a waste to spend the time and money getting a full patent. If they are interested, they know it will be money well-spent. If you do decide to apply for a non-provisional (full) patent, your provisional patent is used as a starting point.

This is the USPTO’s official application for provisional patents.
SRC: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/provapp.htm
Unfortunately, while it spells out each step of the process, it isn’t exactly what you could call “user-friendly.” So let’s dive into the meat and potatoes ourselves.

There are two main parts of a provisional patent application. The first part is the written description of what your patent covers. Arguably, this is the most important part of the application and the one you should spend the most time and energy making sure is accurate. About.com offers some helpful tips in this regard:

Writing Your Description

Under patent law “the written description of the invention and of the manner and process of making and using the same invention must be in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art or science to which the invention pertains to make and use the invention.”

“Skilled in the art or science” is a somewhat subjective legal standard. If the description of your invention is so secretive that it would take a person of extraordinary skill to reproduce or practice the invention, that would not be considered clear or concise. At the same time, the description does not have to be so step-by-step that a layman could reproduce the invention.

About.com also has an article called “Tips on Writing the Description.” It will prove very helpful when you sit down to tackle this crucial task.

SRC: http://inventors.about.com/od/patentsbasics/a/descriptions.htm

Above all, remember that your written description should be airtight: exact in every way, with every trace of vagueness cut out. When it comes to intellectual property, vagueness equals death.

The second part of the provisional patent application is drawings. This, obviously enough, is where you graphically represent what is going to be patented. However, there are some conventions that you should adhere to during this process. To follow them, consult these handy guides from About.com.
- Creating Patent Drawings For A Utility Patent
- Tips on Making Patent Drawings
- The Rules For Patent Drawings

Another article discusses the USPTO’s standards for drawings, which are exact. Rather than conventions, these are requirements that absolutely must be satisfied for your provisional patent application to even be taken seriously. Some of them include size, dimension, type of paper, and formatting. You can read about them all in a simple, easy-to-follow fashion here.

SRC: http://inventors.about.com/od/patentdrawings/a/drawings.htm

If all of this seems daunting, it really isn’t. Once you acquaint yourself with what’s required you will find that it is not all that difficult to comply with the USPTO’s requests on drawings.

Finally, your application must also include the filing fee and a cover report with the following things on it.

- the application as a provisional application for patent;
- the name(s) of all inventors
- inventor residence(s)
- title of the invention
- name and registration number of attorney or agent and docket number (if applicable)
- correspondence address
- any US Government agency that has a property interest in the application.

Make sure all these things are taken care of, and you will be well on your way to being the proud owner of a provisional patent! And remember that once your provisional patent is approved, the clock is ticking. You have 12 short months to drum up interest in your invention and see if it will fly. Take it to trade shows, demo it for customers, do all you can to see whether it is worth getting a full patent. If you are smart and diligent, a year is plenty of time to do this type of research. In fact, it’s why the provisional patent exists at all!

That is the unique benefit and advantage that a provisional patent offers you. Best of luck!

About the author of this article:

Eric Corl is the President of Idea Buyer llc, a marketplace for new technology and products that gives inventors the opportunity to showcase their intellectual property to consumer product companies, entrepreneurs, retailers, and manufacturers. you can email him at ericcorl@ideabuyer.com. you can visit the site by visiting this address; http://www.ideabuyer.com new technology and products, patents for sale.

by Robert P. Stewart

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:
1. A Provisional Patent application is never examined by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and therefore can never become a patent.
2. It may become part of non-provisional application file later on, once you submit your regular patent application
3. 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:

1. Documentation that is detailed enough and clear enough to be understood by the person of “ordinary skill in the art” of the invention
2. Provisional Patent Application Cover sheet.
3. Technical drawings and graphs pertinent to the invention
4. 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.

If you are interesting in reading more, please visit IdeaJets website that is dedicated in bringing quality information to the inventors all over the globe!

Robert P. Stewart