What is a Provisional Patent and How Can it Help Your Business?
If you’re thinking of getting your invention or idea patented, the first step is understanding how the patent process works. One type of patent that might be of particular interest to business owners and inventors is a provisional patent. A provisional patent allows you to protect your invention from infringement for up to twelve months, while you gather the evidence necessary to apply for a utility patent or design patent. Let’s take a look at how a provisional patent can help safeguard your work.
What is a Provisional Patent?
A provisional patent is an application that allows you to claim an invention as yours without actually filing for a full utility or design patent. It’s particularly useful if you don’t have all the resources necessary to complete the full application process, such as conducting market research or developing prototype models. By filing a provisional patent, you essentially reserve your rights and establish priority over any similar inventions that come after yours. This way, if someone else files for a similar invention after you, they won’t be granted exclusive rights over your idea even if their application was filed before yours.
Benefits of Filing for a Provisional Patent
Filing for a provisional patent offers some significant benefits for business owners and inventors alike. For starters, it gives you more time and flexibility when it comes to perfecting your invention and gathering all the evidence necessary to file for a full utility or design patent. In addition, it gives potential partners an incentive to invest in your product by allowing them exclusive access before anyone else has it—at least until the provisional period expires (typically 12 months). Finally, filing for a provisional patent also serves as proof that you were the first person with this specific idea or invention—a major plus if any disputes arise further down the road.
How Do You File for a Provisional Patent?
When filing for a provisional application, there are some important steps that need to be taken. Because the process can be intimidating, L4SB has created The Provisional Patent Service to ensure things go smoothly.
What’s Included:
- Initial 30-minute patent consultation with patent attorney Kameron W. Kramer
- Case handled by patent attorney
- Patent attorney will guide you through the process and answer your questions
- Up to six (6) claims drafted by patent attorney
- Discussion and evaluation on best way to identify your invention in the Provisional Patent
- Professional drawings (additional option)
- Proper filing with the US Patent & Trademark Office
How to Get Started
In conclusion, filing for a provisional patent is an excellent way of protecting yourself while still giving potential business partners exclusive access to your invention during its development phase. By working with a Patent Attorney and taking the proper precautions with documentation/drawings before submitting an application, you can guarantee that you will receive proper credit should anyone try copying or infringing on your ideas later on down the line! Ultimately, this means greater peace of mind knowing that all of your hard work won’t go unnoticed or unprotected! So what are you waiting for? Let L4SB help you to get started on filing for that provisional today!
Law 4 Small Business, P.C. (L4SB). A little law now can save a lot later. A Slingshot company.
Author: Larry Donahue
Larry Donahue is an attorney and founder of Law 4 Small Business, P.C. He is licensed to practice law in Illinois, New Mexico and the US Patent and Trademark Office.
