There are three sorts of protection to protect your intellectual property from infringement. They are copyrights, trademarks, and patents. If you are a scientist or a creator who invents processes or inventions, patents are the right kind to protect your property.
A patent provides exclusive ownership or rights to a person who owns his creations and excludes others from using or selling them without legal permission. If you wish to register a patent with the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office), there are several procedures to follow, and they may vary according to the patent type you choose. This article will explain how to file a provisional patent application (PPA) for your inventions.
What is a Provisional Patent?
Generally, there are two types of patents available. They are:
- Provisional patent.
- Non-provisional patent (Utility patent)
A utility or non-provisional patent is the most common type chosen by patent owners. Once filed, a utility patent is valid for about 20 years. Though the cost of filing a utility patent depends on the product or process you invent, the average expense ranges between $7,000 and $20,000.
If you doubt that your newly designed product would be commercially viable, obtaining a 20-year utility patent is a huge thing at first step. What to do for scenarios like this? You can file a provisional patent for this.
Provisional patents came into existence in 1995 that allows inventors to check their product’s viability and improve its quality and protect it from infringement at the same time by having the label “Patent Pending” on their products.
A PPA is valid for about 12 months, and you need to convert it to a utility patent if you want to extend its protection. The provisional patent doesn’t require complex document formalities, high registration fees like a utility patent, and not even a claim. If you can file a patent application by yourself, a provisional patent application will cost you as low as $75 to $1,150. It may vary when you hire a patent attorney to help you through the patent registration.
Process of Filing a PPA
After understanding PPA, now you will know how to file a provisional patent application:
Prepare the required documents
The following are the requirements for filing a PPA with the USPTO:
- The provisional patent application contains the name of all the inventors, their residences, the patent’s title, description, drawings, and attorney details (if any).
- The filing fee for the PPA.
How to apply?
Once the requirements are ready, you can submit your application electronically using the EFS or by mail. To submit your application, ensure to have all your documents in PDF file formats, and the payments can be made using real-time payment processing.
Research before you file
Once you decide to file a patent for your invention, know how to file a provisional patent application and research thoroughly to find whether your creation is similar to an already existing one. The next step after filing a patent is the examination of the patent by the examiners. While examining if the newly registered patent resembles an already existing one, the patent office would reject the application. To avoid this, research properly and ensure your invention and its documents are unique.
Converting it to a Utility patent at the right time
As we discussed, a provisional patent is valid up to 12 months from the registration date. This validity cannot be extended after 12 months. So, if you want your property to be protected, you should convert it to a utility patent after these 12 months to enjoy the benefits of the earlier filing. While converting, the application for a utility (non-provisional) patent should contain a detailed reference to the respective provisional patent application.
Benefits of applying for a Provisional Patent Application
We all know the advantages of registering a patent for our inventions to protect our rights. However, the benefits of applying a PPA are unavoidable because of its simplicity and cost-effectiveness. The major benefits of applying for a PPA are listed below.
- A provisional patent also protects your invention from infringements through its “patent pending” label.
- If you want to protect your product or invention from its premature stage, you can opt for a PPA. PPA enables you to protect your product while at the same time developing it.
- The requirements for filing a PPA are simpler than the utility patent. To apply for a PPA, you need a precise description of the invention and its inventors’ details.
- Since PPA is straightforward to apply, you can also do it yourself.
- When you have a provisional patent, you can enjoy the benefits of “first to file” while applying for a patent application.
Limitations to be considered while opting for PPA
After knowing how to file a provisional patent application and its benefits, some limitations must be taken care of. Some of them are:
- If your patent is a design patent, you cannot apply a PPA for it.
- If a utility patent for the respective provisional patent has not been filed within 12 months, the patent would not be registered under the U.S. patents. And also, the patent cannot enjoy the benefits of PPA.
- Once filed, you cannot modify or make amendments to provisional patents other than compliance-related amendments.
- For inventions that can be directly registered under utility patents, filing a PPA may result in additional costs.
Conclusion
Though utility patents are the most standard patents that protect your inventions from illegal usage, a provisional patent application is the least expensive and uncomplicated option for property protection. The validity is limited and only exists for about 12 months, but you can check your product’s market viability before filing a utility patent. I hope this article helps you learn how to file a provisional patent application (PPA), its benefits, and its limitations. Understanding the nature of a PPA and determining whether your product needs it will help you utilize the best of it.
Disclaimer-Brealant provides access to independent attorneys and self-service tools, is not a law firm, and does not provide legal advice.
