Provisional patent. Priority date + 12-month window.
A provisional patent application establishes a priority date inexpensively. Does not get examined. Must be followed by a non-provisional within 12 months. Common strategic choice for inventors needing time to refine the invention or assess commercial viability.
Start here.
Establishes priority date inexpensively.
Provisional alone never becomes a patent.
Must file non-provisional within 12 months or priority is lost.
$1,500-$4,000 typical attorney fees + small USPTO fee.
Allows "Patent Pending" marketing immediately.
The full picture.
What a provisional does
Establishes a priority date for the invention. Allows "Patent Pending" status. Provides 12 months to file a non-provisional. Does not get examined; does not become a patent on its own.
What a provisional does NOT do
Does not get examined. Does not result in a granted patent. Does not provide enforceable rights until a patent grants.
Requirements
Specification describing the invention; drawings if relevant; signed cover sheet; filing fee. Claims not required (though often included anyway).
Strategic reasons to file provisional first
(1) Locks in priority date before product launch or public disclosure. (2) Cheaper initial filing. (3) Buys 12 months to refine the invention and decide on full filing. (4) "Patent Pending" status for marketing. (5) Provides time to assess commercial viability.
Non-provisional follow-up
Must be filed within 12 months. Detailed specification, drawings, claims (the legal scope), oath or declaration of inventor, filing fee. Significantly more involved than provisional.
Priority date
Provisional filing date becomes the priority date for the non-provisional, as long as the non-provisional claims priority and the same invention is disclosed in both. Critical for novelty: prior art before the priority date is the "prior art universe."
Common mistakes
(1) Skipping provisional and missing priority date. (2) Filing non-provisional without lawyer (claims errors costly). (3) Public disclosure before any application (loses foreign priority in most countries; US has 12-month grace period). (4) Letting the 12-month window lapse.
When NOT to file provisional
When you have full prepared non-provisional ready. When 12 months is not enough to refine. When you have no plan to file non-provisional anyway.
Common questions.
What does a provisional cost?
Does a provisional become a patent?
What if I miss the 12-month deadline?
Can the non-provisional differ from provisional?
When can I mark "Patent Pending"?
Does provisional give me protection?
Should I use a patent attorney?
What if I publicly disclose before filing?
Need IP protection?
Patents (through our attorney network). Trademarks (we file). Copyright registration (we file). IP assignment templates (free).
Patent law is highly specialized. Professional patent attorney advice is essential for filing.
On the $129/yr Compliance Annual Filings plan, we cover state late fees.
When you autofile your annual report through the $129/yr plan and we miss the deadline, we pay the state's late fee. The guarantee applies to that specific plan and the filings it includes. Other File.Business services are billed at the prices on this page.