Recipe Archive

RISCORE's November Recipe for Small Business Success

Protect your ideas with a “provisional patent”

File at least a provisional patent application to protect your invention for a 12 month period. The typical cost for a small entity is $105 and $210 for a large entity to file a provisional patent application with the United States Patent Office. It can be filed up to 12 months following the date of first sale, offer for sale, public use, or publication of the invention. Note, in foreign jurisdictions, any pre-filing disclosures (sale, public use, or publication) may preclude patenting in foreign countries.

There are many benefits to filing a provisional patent application, as opposed to a full or non-provisional application. Foremost, the term “Patent Pending” may be used without incurring much cost. Also, by having your invention on file with the USPTO, you can claim first to invent status should there be an issue. Many persons use these filings as ways to facilitate business discussions while protecting your status as “first to invent” should someone file for patent protection on your invention.

A filing date will be accorded to a provisional application only when it contains:

• a written description of the invention, complying with all requirements of 35 U.S.C. §112 1st paragraph and
• any drawings necessary to understand the invention, complying with 35 U.S.C. §113.

If either of these items are missing or incomplete, no filing date will be accorded to the provisional application.

To be complete, a provisional application must also include the filing fee and a cover sheet identifying:

• the application as a provisional application for patent
• the name(s) of all inventors
• inventor residence(s)
• title of the invention
• name and registration number of attorney or agent and docket number (if applicable)
• correspondence address
• any US Government agency that has a property interest in the application

Form PTO/SB/16, available on the printable forms page of the USPTO web site at http://www.uspto.gov/web/forms/index.html may be used as the cover sheet for a provisional application.

By Dan Holmander, SCORE Counselor

Barlow, Josephs & Holmes, Ltd.
101 Dyer Street , 5th Floor
Providence , RI 02903
401-273-4446 (Tel)
401-273-4447 (Fax)
djh@barjos.com
www.barjos.com