Kimberlee Leonard has 22 years of experience as a freelance writer. Her work has been featured on US News and World Report, Business.com and Fit Small Business. She brings practical experience as a business owner and insurance agent to her role as a.
Kimberlee Leonard Small Business Expert WriterKimberlee Leonard has 22 years of experience as a freelance writer. Her work has been featured on US News and World Report, Business.com and Fit Small Business. She brings practical experience as a business owner and insurance agent to her role as a.
Written By Kimberlee Leonard Small Business Expert WriterKimberlee Leonard has 22 years of experience as a freelance writer. Her work has been featured on US News and World Report, Business.com and Fit Small Business. She brings practical experience as a business owner and insurance agent to her role as a.
Kimberlee Leonard Small Business Expert WriterKimberlee Leonard has 22 years of experience as a freelance writer. Her work has been featured on US News and World Report, Business.com and Fit Small Business. She brings practical experience as a business owner and insurance agent to her role as a.
Small Business Expert Writer Jane Haskins, J.D. ContributorJane Haskins practiced law for 20 years, representing small businesses in startup, dissolution, business transactions and litigation. She has written hundreds of articles on legal, intellectual property and tax issues affecting small businesses.
Jane Haskins, J.D. ContributorJane Haskins practiced law for 20 years, representing small businesses in startup, dissolution, business transactions and litigation. She has written hundreds of articles on legal, intellectual property and tax issues affecting small businesses.
Written By Jane Haskins, J.D. ContributorJane Haskins practiced law for 20 years, representing small businesses in startup, dissolution, business transactions and litigation. She has written hundreds of articles on legal, intellectual property and tax issues affecting small businesses.
Jane Haskins, J.D. ContributorJane Haskins practiced law for 20 years, representing small businesses in startup, dissolution, business transactions and litigation. She has written hundreds of articles on legal, intellectual property and tax issues affecting small businesses.
Contributor Rob Watts Managing Editor, SMBWith over a decade of editorial experience, Rob Watts breaks down complex topics for small businesses that want to grow and succeed. His work has been featured in outlets such as Keypoint Intelligence, FitSmallBusiness and PCMag.
Rob Watts Managing Editor, SMBWith over a decade of editorial experience, Rob Watts breaks down complex topics for small businesses that want to grow and succeed. His work has been featured in outlets such as Keypoint Intelligence, FitSmallBusiness and PCMag.
Rob Watts Managing Editor, SMBWith over a decade of editorial experience, Rob Watts breaks down complex topics for small businesses that want to grow and succeed. His work has been featured in outlets such as Keypoint Intelligence, FitSmallBusiness and PCMag.
Rob Watts Managing Editor, SMBWith over a decade of editorial experience, Rob Watts breaks down complex topics for small businesses that want to grow and succeed. His work has been featured in outlets such as Keypoint Intelligence, FitSmallBusiness and PCMag.
| Managing Editor, SMB
Updated: Aug 6, 2022, 10:53pm
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If you’ve invented something new, you’ll want to protect your work. But filing for a patent can take time and can get costly. Instead of filing for a patent outright, file for a provisional patent that gives you 12 months to determine the commercial viability of your invention. This will allow you to use the “patent pending” label while you pitch and market your item. Here’s what you need to know about filing a provisional patent.
The provisional patent has been around since June of 1995. It is offered by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to give inventors a low-cost option for filing in the U.S. It also gives U.S. applicants parity with foreign applicants under the GATT Uruguay Round Agreements, which set the groundwork for tariffs and trade for 123 countries.
Provisional patents are legal documents filed with the USPTO to establish an early filing date of an invention. In order for its provisions to extend beyond the 12 months of the provisional patent, you must file for a nonprovisional patent. This 12-month period can’t be extended, so if you miss filing the nonprovisional patent in the designated timeframe, you’ll no longer have any patent protection for your invention.
The United States awards patent rights to the first person to file a patent application for a particular invention. The key advantage of the provisional patent is that it allows inventors to secure their position as “first to file” by submitting a simplified application. Unlike a nonprovisional patent, a provisional patent application doesn’t require a claim. The claim defines the invention you want to protect. Because a provisional patent doesn’t include a claim, it’s simpler to prepare and doesn’t alert competitors to the exact invention you’re protecting. This gives inventors time to test and refine an idea without worrying that someone else will be the first to file a patent application.
Not having to write a claim means that many provisional patent applications don’t need an attorney, so inventors can complete their own application. This saves on costs since you don’t have to pay legal fees, just the filing fee that ranges from $75 to $300 per application. Once you file the provisional patent application, you can describe your invention as “patent pending” for 12 months. These are all key benefits to going the route of the provisional patent.
The disadvantage is that no patent will be issued from a provisional patent. The application serves as a placeholder while you prepare and submit your nonprovisional patent application. This means you’re tacking on a cost that wouldn’t otherwise be there if you went right to the nonprovisional patent application. This can create a false sense of protection since there is no guarantee that a patent will get issued when you complete the remaining paperwork.
Since the provisional patent has limited protection and will never get an official patent issued, you may wonder when and why to use it. The idea behind using a provisional patent is that you want to secure your position as the first one to file for your patent, and then quickly move into the production and distribution of your product. You want to have pitch sessions and maybe seek investment capital into your idea. You don’t want to sit and wait for a patent to get issued, which can take up to 22 months.
By filing the provisional patent, you protect your idea immediately while you complete the nonprovisional paperwork. This gives you the protection provided by “patent pending” noted on all materials related to your product.
To start the application, you need to complete USPTO Form SB-16, which is the Provisional Application for Patent Cover Sheet. This sheet lists the names of the inventors, the title of the invention and notes the address for correspondence. It also has a disclosure to complete and requires a signature.
With the application, you will include:
You can submit your application online or by mail. The standard filing fee is $300. Small entities pay $150 while micro entities pay only $75 for the provisional patent. A small entity has no more than 500 employees. Micro entities are small entities that aren’t named on more than four utility patents and have a gross income that doesn’t exceed three times the median household income for the preceding year.
The USPTO allows you to file a grantable petition with a statement of the delay in filing the nonprovisional application. The reason must be unintentional and must be done within 14 months from the filing of the provisional patent application, giving you a two-month extension.
Once you have the cover sheet, you will want to include all supplemental information that describes the patent. This includes a detailed description of the invention, illustrations of the invention and text that describes the illustrations. Documents submitted electronically should be in PDF format.
