Provisional Patent - $129*

The USPTO filing fee for an application for provisional patent filed by a small entity (under 500 employees) is $110. For others the fee is $220.

The proper name for this application is a Provisional Application for Patent ("PAP"), though it is often referred to as "Provisional Patent Application" ("PPA"). A PAP is a way to protect your invention for a short period of time (12 months) during which you can prepare and file a full patent application. Also, by filing a PAP, you can establish an early effective filing date, even though you have yet to file a full patent applicaiton. Please note that the PAP does not become a patent; you must file a full patent application, at which point the 20-year patent term begins to run.

The provisional patent application must be filed in the name of the inventor(s), despite the fact that the owner of the invention is another person or entity.

Three documents make up a provisional patent application- the specification, drawings, and cover sheet. The specification is text describing how to make and use the invention. The drawings help describe the invention and show how to use the invention. The cover sheet contains basic information about the inventor(s).

You have 12 months from the date you filed the provisional patent application ("PPA") to file a non-provisional patent application ("NPA") if you want to take advantage of the early effective filing date that attached when you filed the PPA. If you don't file an NPA within this 12-month period, you will lose the early effective filing date and will need to file another PPA or an NPA for your invention.

No. The United States Patent and Trademark Office does not require an inventor to submit professional drawings with his or her provisional patent application. However, it is important to ensure that the drawings are helpful in describing the invention and/or illustrating how to practice the invention.

There are only three documents that make up a provisional patent application- the specification, drawings, and cover sheet. The specification is simply text describing how to make and use the invention. The drawings help describe the invention and show how to use the invention. The cover sheet contains basic information about the inventor(s). None of these items require preparation by an attorney; however, you may feel more comfortable having an attorney prepare or assist in preparing the application. You can find a patent attorney in your area through NowLegal.com.

No. There must be at least one inventor listed in your provisional patent application, but there isn't a limit on the number of inventors. However, when there are mulitple inventors for a single invention, they will be considered joint inventors, with only one patent being issued to them jointly.

There are several benefits of filing a provisional patent application. For example, you have one year to assess whether your invention has commercial potential before you go through the more lengthy and costly process of filing a full patent application; you can use a "patent pending" on your invention; you may be considered the "first to invent," even before building and testing your invention; and you establish an official United States patent application early effective filing date for your invention even though you may not file a full application until a year after your provisional patent applicaiton.

For the USPTO to accept your application and grant you a filing date, certain requirements must be met. The specification, which is the text describing the invention, must enable one skilled in the art to practice the invention, and must disclose the best mode known for practicing the invention. You are required to provide a drawing if needed to explain the invention, and the application must identify the inventors who contributed to the subject matter disclosed in the application.

It depends. You have one year from the time you file the provisional application to file a non-provisional patent application. The non-provisional patent application, or the "full" patent application, must specifically refer to the provisional application and must contain the same subject matter as the provisional application. If these requirements are met, then the USPTO will grant the non-provisional application the provisional application's early effective filing date.