The Provisional Patent Application program through the United States Patent Trademark Office offers many advantages for inventors.  Some of these features included below are from their website.

FEATURES

  • Provides simplified filing with a lower initial investment with 12 months to assess the invention’s commercial potential before committing to higher cost of filing and prosecuting a non-provisional application for patent.
  • Establishes official United States patent application filing date for the invention.
  • Permits authorized use of “Patent Pending” notice for 12 months in connection with the description of the invention.
  • Begins the Paris Convention priority year.
  • Enables immediate commercial promotion of invention with greater security against having the invention stolen.
  • Permits applicant(s) to obtain USPTO certified copies.
  • Provides for submission of additional inventor names by petition if omission occurred without deceptive intent (deletions are also possible by petition

This program can be a great step for inventors to take before filing a non provisional patent.  It can save you thousands of dollars in wasted patent fees if your idea doesn’t generate the interest you were hoping.

For assistance in getting started with any of your new ideas please visit us at New Product Consulting