Provisional Patent Applications
Provisional patent applications (technically “provisional utility patent applications”) provide a priority date for a given invention to which future utility patent applications (technically “non-provisional utility patent applications”) may claim priority if the utility patent application(s) are filed within one year of the provisional patent application filing date. Because provisional patent applications are less expensive to file than utility patent applications, the one year deadline can be used to enable a business to explore the marketability and profitability of a given invention before committing to the more costly utility patent application process. Alternatively, if a company knows it will pursue a utility patent application on a given invention, the step of filing a provisional patent application may add unnecessary costs and delays.
Accordingly, depending on the context, a provisional patent application can be an effective tool for postponing more significant financial investment in the patent process until a better informed business decision can be made or a provisional patent application may simply be an unnecessary waste of time and resources. I will work with you to determine the most effective and efficient tools for implementing your patent strategy.
Please contact me if you would like to learn more about how your business can effectively use provisional patent applications to strengthen its intellectual property strategy and holdings.
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