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Provisional Patent Application

Patent protection is available for any product, process or design that meets certain criteria of novelty, non-obviousness and utility as defined by patent offices. Provisional patent applications if done in the right manner are a great way to move toward a utility patent. Now since the United States has become a first to file country and abandoned its first to invent approach, it is more important to file a patent application as soon as possible. Filing a well-written provisional patent application that describes the invention sufficiently will establish your invention’s priority and stop the clock for others.

Types of Provisional Patent Applications

There are two types of utility and plant patent applications: provisional and non-provisional. According to USPTO, a provisional patent application allows you to file without a formal patent claim, oath or declaration, or any information disclosure (prior art) statement. Since June 8, 1995, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has offered inventors the option of filing a provisional application for patent which was designed to provide a lower-cost first patent filing in the United States and to give U.S. applicants parity with foreign applicants under the GATT Uruguay Round Agreements. A similar structure exists in several other countries too such as including India.

Benefits of filing a provisional patent application

A provisional application provides the means to establish an early effective filing date in a later filed non-provisional patent application. Filing a well-written provisional patent application that describes the invention sufficiently will establish your invention’s priority and stop the clock for others.

One of the reasons why filing a provisional patent application may be a good idea is because it initiates the patent process quickly as there are not many rigid or formal requirements and because they are cheaper to draft, prepare and file. The USPTO filing fee submitted at the time of filing is only $130 for small entities. This helps you save several hundreds of dollars compared to the filing fees for a non-provisional patent application and also a few hundred dollars in drafting the patent application. In case you are eligible for a micro entity status; the filing fee is even less — only $65.

Provisional patent filings also give you one year to develop your invention and file a non-provisional later. Many inventors and companies prefer to file a provisional as soon as they have a description of their invention ready and get a priority date reserved for their invention. A non-provisional application is drafted later within one year as and when the formal requirements are complete.

Why Maxinov for provisional patent application preparation?

There are more than one reasons why you can trust Maxinov for your provisional patent application preparation.

  • 8+ years of business in patent application drafting and patent filing
  • Our team has experienced persons of over a decade of experience in handling patent drafting matters.
  • Successfully delivered more than 200 provisional patent applications.
  • Low costs – we help you save as much as 70% of the costs you would otherwise have to spend on patent drafting and filing.
  • Our unique blend of technology expertise and patent experience help us deliver the highest of the quality standards in IP industry.
  • We have a strong team who understands the technology. Our technology capabilities range from life sciences (pharma, biomed, medical tech) and mechanical structures and machines to electronics, computer sciences and engineering, healthcare IT, 3D printing, blockchain, 5G, IoT and other hi-tech innovative technology sectors.
  • Patent drafting is an art. Not everyone can prepare a good patent application. It requires years of experience to differentiate between different choices available in writing a patent draft. Our team includes some of the finest patent draftspersons and patent writers who have worked with some of the largest patent law firms and corporations in the US, UK, India, and other countries.
  • Our patent drafting team includes technologists who are inventors and patent holders themselves and can appreciate the importance of an invention and entire life cycle of inventing and patenting better.
  • We are partnered with US and EPO law firms and attorneys so that we can serve you for all services as a single point of contact at low costs. No hassles anymore.