How to file a provisional patent application? 

A provisional patent application is a “normal” patent application in which you “click the box” to file a provisional or non-provisional patent application. In any case, you have patent pending status once you file a patent application.

You can file a provisional or non-provisional patent application at USPTO.gov.

 What is required to file a provisional patent? 

Provisional contain all of the elements of a “normal” patent application. A provisional patent application, on the other hand, does not need you to file claims.

This implies that you must provide a detailed description of the innovation. Furthermore, the description must “allow” a person with ordinary ability in the art to put the invention into effect. That is, you must be able to give over the patent application to a regular practitioner (such as a regular programmer for software or a machinist for a mechanical innovation), and they must be able to manufacture it.

You must include pictures (drawings) of the invention and a written description.

One of the most typical mistakes occurs when the description is insufficiently detailed. As a result, many inventors understand how they will construct their inventions but fail to articulate them in a patent specification fully.

On the other side, adding too much information to the patent application is a significant mistake. This presents a significant previous art difficulty for the corporation in the future.

 What is the cost? 

For most inventors and small businesses, a temporary application costs around $130. However, remember that this is only the filing price you pay to the Patent Office.

The true cost of each patent application is the time spent by the attorney drafting the patent application.

 Is a provisional patent cheaper than a non-provisional? 

No! You will have to pay an additional filing cost. However, the most significant expense is the time lost. Unfortunately, most people squander a whole year waiting to file their non-provisional application. This is an additional year in which they may have leased their patents. It is also pushed back a whole year regarding when the patent asset may be utilized to raise funds, borrow against, enforce, and so on.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office frequently promotes provisional applications as being less expensive, and many patent attorneys have hopped on board. Unfortunately, this is a marketing tactic that benefits the patent attorney while harming the client.

A temporary application is typically used when a firm claims to be financially poor but concept rich. Under the pretense of obtaining an “early filing date” and so being “cheaper,” the attorney prepares a “thin” provisional patent application. After a year, the patent attorney has a lot of clouts to convince their client to pay for a non provisional application.

This is a blatant marketing trick designed to take advantage of unsuspecting customers.

Clients frequently regard patents as an unnecessary cost that offers little value in the short run. As a result, people are hesitant to pay for the patent “protection” offered by the attorney. However, if the attorney can trick the client into filing a provisional application, the attorney must wait a year. They can then press the client for a full-fledged non-provisional patent application and receive compensation.

The customer is unaware that the arbitrary one-year waiting time is neither essential nor even beneficial to them. Instead, it is just a marketing ploy that the Patent Bar has effectively, but regrettably, instilled in the general public.

 Provisional vs. non-provisional patent application 

A new firm is always better off filing a non-provisional patent application.

One of the main “reasons” individuals pick a provisional patent application is to postpone their expenditures. Any time an inventor chooses to delay receiving their patent demonstrates how little value the invention has for them.

Spend money on patents if they will be lucrative. Otherwise, forgo the patenting procedure completely.

A choice to postpone obtaining a patent demonstrates to investors that you do not trust the patent application enough to spend an additional $600. (the cost difference between a provisional and non-provisional).

And if your patent application does not provide you with $600 in value, you should not waste your time on it.

 PROVISIONALS ARE NEARLY ALWAYS A BAD IDEA FOR YOUR COMPANY. 

An entrepreneur or fledgling firm should virtually never file a provisional patent application. The primary goal of a provisional patent application is to delay ** the patent procedure, but, for a startup, you want your patent as soon as possible. A delay is especially advantageous in situations where the majority of the value of the patent is near the end of the patent period, such as pharmaceuticals. Unfortunately, this is not the case for nearly all beginning businesses.

For starters, holding a patent provides value to the firm. When you have a patent, the firm’s valuation rises when you raise funds, offering the fledgling company market protection. I used the Patent Prosecution Highway or Track One to try to acquire a patent in 10-18 months rather than the usual 5-7 years.

Second, a “thin” provisional patent application causes significantly more harm than you think. Many files a 1-2 page provisional patent application, then return a year later and hire an attorney to create a “full” patent application. Entrepreneurs frequently believe they are “protected,” so they go out and openly discuss their ideas with customers, investors, and the general public for a year.

This results in two filing dates: one for the provisional patent application and another for the rest of the content.

The “complete” patent application most likely contains more material than is required to support the invention’s claims. This raises a serious issue: the provisional application constitutes prior art against you in subsequent patent applications, but it is insufficient to establish the claims. Your provisional application will harm all of your subsequent patent applications.

This method results in losing all European and other foreign patent rights. For claims in the specification, the European Patent Office needs complete support. Because you did not have this support in the provisional and subsequently publicly discussed the invention before filing the non-provisional, your worldwide rights are gone.If your idea is useful, there is no reason why you should not obtain a patent as soon as feasible.