Obtaining a Provisional Patent

A provisional patent gives the inventor twelve months to file a full patent application. During this time the term patent pending is used.

Often a patent attorney is needed to research the proposed patent and to make the drawings.

Intellectual Property - Patent Law, Copyrights, and Trademarks

A provisional patent is somewhat like obtaining a placeholder patent. The provisional patent is an initial patent, that is similar to a regular patent and is subject to most patent infringement laws, but it will not turn into a typical patent with all the patent rights until the applicant takes additional steps. The U.S. Patent Office has high regulations regarding provisional patents and won't hand over a provisional patent unless it meets U.S. Patent Office requirements. This means that within a reasonable time frame the provisional patent holder still has the right to file with the U.S. Patent Office and obtain a regular patent. Patent lawyers recommend filing for a provisional patent first in many cases if the patent desired has a high likelihood of becoming someone else's very good idea. The U.S. Patent Office generally only permits provisional patents for a short time before the provisional patent holder is then required to take additional steps to obtain a regular patent. If the provisional patent holder fails to do so, then the next applicant if free to file for a patent without violating patent infringement laws.A patent lawyer can thoroughly explain all the details between a provisional patent and a regular patent. A patent lawyer can also determine whether a patent applicant is better served filing for a provisional patent first. It is not always in someone's best interest to file for a provisional patent with the U.S. Patent Office. Patent infringement laws are very stringent as well, and allows the U.S. Patent Office to be so tightly organized. Exceptions to patent infringement law would create patent pandemonium, which would be highly chaotic for inventors and potential patent holders.