Provisional Patent Application

Hello Inventors,

I'm often asked, "What is a provisional patent application?"

Well, when most folks imagine a patent, they imagine a utility patent. Essentially, utility patents protect useful, new and nonobvious products and processes.

In contrast, provisional patent applications don't issue as patents themselves, but instead function as priority documents. After filing a provisional patent application the Inventor has 1 year to file a regular utility patent application. A utility patent application can claim priority to a provisional patent application and therefore claim the benefit of its filing date when determining whether a reference predates the invention.

Provisional patent applications do not require many of the formalities found in a utility patent application and can therefore be less expensive. However a provisional patent application must still sufficiently disclose the invention to one skilled in the art.

You can find more information about the different types of patent applications at Biotech Beach Law's patent page.

Keep inventing!

Raymond

Invention Disclosure Report - Fillable form

Hello Inventors:

Inventors often have a difficult time determining what information is required for the preparation of a patent application. Some companies have Invention Disclosure Report forms and others do not. While the presentation may differ among forms, a typical Invention Disclosure Report includes the following sections:

• Name, citizenship, residence and contact information for each inventor
• Description of the Invention including informal drawings
• Evaluation of the current state of the art
• Differences that make your invention an improvement over the state of the art
• Questions addressing whether the invention has been disclosed to others

I have attached a sample Invention Disclosure Report that may be filled out and saved using Microsoft Word. You may use this form when discussing your invention with your patent attorney.

Keep Inventing!

Raymond