15 Tips: How Long Does It Take to Process Your Provisional Application for Patent?
A Provisional Patent Application acts as a placeholder application, as outlined in detail over at runrex.com, and will help protect your invention from being copied during the 12 months before a formal patent application is filed. It is also important to point out that there is no such thing as a provisional patent, and what you can do to protect your invention is to file a Provisional Patent Application. If you are wondering how long it takes to process your Provisional Application for Patent, then this article will look to help you through the following 15 tips.
- When can you apply for a Provisional Application for Patent?
Before we highlight how long it will take to process your Provisional Application for Patent, it is important to know when you can apply for one. According to the subject matter experts over at guttulus.com, you can apply for a Provisional Application for Patent as soon as you can explain how your invention works and how it can be used.
- Do you need a working prototype to apply?
Another question people tend to ask is if they will need to have a working prototype of their invention, to apply for a Provisional Application for Patent. According to discussions on the same over at runrex.com, you do not need to have a working prototype of your invention to file a Provisional Patent Application.
- There is no examination or formal format
It is important to note that, once filed, a Provisional Application for Patent is never examined by the Patent Office, unlike a Non-Provisional Patent Application as discussed over at guttulus.com. Additionally, PPAs, unlike NPAs, are not subject to specific formatting or organization requirements. There is also no requirement for a summary abstract, patent claims, or the need to discuss prior art when it comes to Provisional Applications.
- It, therefore, depends on you
According to the experts over at runrex.com, given that there is no examination or formal format to filing a Provisional Application, how long it will take to get one will all depend on you and how quickly you can prepare and file a Provisional Patent Application with the USPTO.
- Be careful when filing
Given that there is no formal format when filing a PPA, nor is it examined by the Patent Office, the temptation may be to craft something and submit it as soon as possible, but you need to be careful with that. This is because you need to ensure that whatever you submit unambiguously and comprehensively describes your idea. You don’t what to realize weeks or months down the road that your Provisional Application was too limited or misdirected.
Given that it, therefore, depends on how quickly you can file, the following tips will look to focus on how to file a Provisional Patent Application.
- What will you need to do to get a Provisional Application for Patent?
To get a Provisional Application for Patent, as discussed over at guttulus.com, you will need to be able to describe your invention, how it works, and how it is made. Additionally, you will also need to disclose basic information such as the name of the inventor(s), their home address, and the correspondence address to file a PPA.
- Filing fees
As the subject matter experts over at runrex.com are quick to point out, you will need to also need to pay a small filing fee to file a Provisional Patent Application. This fee is subject change from time to time and you should check out USPTO’s website for accurate information on the filing fee that you may have to pay.
- What happens once filed
Once you file your Provisional Application for Patent with the USPTO, which you can either do by mail or electronically using EFS-Web as discussed over at guttulus.com, then the Patent Office won’t review the substance if your Provisional Application, but instead they will just register the date it is received and start your one year clock ticking.
- What is the one-year clock about?
As is explained over at runrex.com, a Provisional Application is temporary and will expire after one year from the date of its filing. This means that you need to file for a Non-Provisional Patent Application within 12 months of filing a Provisional Application if you want to obtain patent protection for your invention.
- PPAs and early filing dates
One of the main reasons that inventors opt to file a Provisional Application for Patent is to obtain an early filing date for their invention. This serves to protect the inventor from other inventors who may file a patent application for the same invention as by obtaining an early filing date, the inventor’s invention will be given priority over the others.
- Why is obtaining an early filing date important
According to discussions on the same over at guttulus.com, obtaining an early filing date for an invention is very important in the US which is a first to file country. This means that the patent to an invention will be awarded to the inventor who first files a patent application and not necessarily to the first person who invents an invention.
- Do Provisional Patent Applications offer protection?
Provisional Patent Applications do not grant the inventor patent rights according to the experts over at runrex.com. This means that while a patent application is pending, one does not have any patent rights to enforce against others. It is also important to note that a PPA will never mature into an issued patent and to obtain a patent, you will have to file a Non-Provisional Patent Application within 12 months of filing the PPA and have it prosecuted for a patent to be granted.
- Do Provisional Applications offer “patent pending” status?
Although PPAs don’t grant the inventor patent rights, they will grant them “patent pending” status as explained over at guttulus.com. This should help fend off bad actors from copying your invention as it signals to them that you are in the process of obtaining patent protection for your invention.
- What to do after filing a Provisional Application
As outlined over at runrex.com, you can use the 12 months following a Provisional Patent Application in several ways including using the time to pitch your invention to investors, to work on and improve your invention, or even take the time to prepare your Non-Provisional Patent Application without the worry that someone else will patent your invention.
- How long does it take to get a patent?
Once you file a Provisional Application for Patent, the next question that may come to mind is how long it may take for you to get a patent. It is important to note that the amount of time taken will depend on several factors such as how well your application was drafted as well as the complexity of your invention. However, according to numbers from the USPTO, it currently rakes investors about 24 months to get their invention patented from the time they file their Non-Provisional Patent Application. Therefore, if you took the full year after filing your PPA, it may take you about 36 months to get a patent for your invention.
From the above discussion, it is clear that you will get a Provisional Application for Patent as quickly as you can prepare and file your Provisional Application for Patent. For more information on this topic and on how to file for a PPA, please check out the highly-rated runrex.com and guttulus.com.