For entrepreneurs/inventors, getting your product to market quickly can be critical in order to ensure that you launch your product before someone beats you to the punch. However, it is just as important that you secure a patent for your idea, as our patent system gives priority to the first person to file for a patent rather than the first to invent. This makes it critical that you file a patent as early in the invention process as possible in order to ensure that you secure your idea. However, early in the invention process, you may not have the time, capital, or a sufficiently concrete product design to file a patent application. This is why it is often recommended that inventors file a provisional patent application (PPA) first. If you are not familiar with provisional patent applications, here is a quick look at everything you need to know about these applications.
What is a Provisional Patent Application?
A provisional patent application is a patent application that is not examined and is instead used to establish a priority date for an invention. PPAs often take the form of an informal document, such as a white paper or product manual, and they can be converted into a utility (non-provisional) patent application within a year of the initial filing date. This allows inventors to claim a filing date, and secure the rights to their invention, even while they are still in the development phase. Since these applications are not examined, they typically do not come with the costs associated with filing a non-provisional patent.
What Are The Benefits of Filing a PPA?
The primary benefit of filing a PPA is that it gives inventors a one-year extension to file a utility patent while still allowing them to provisionally secure the rights to their idea. This gives you a year to continue to refine your product, experiment, find potential backers, and determine if your product is viable to bring to market before you go through with the expense of filing a patent application. However, once you do file a non-provisional patent application, this application will benefit from having the filing date of the initial PPA, helping you to secure the rights to your invention. This gives you time to perfect your idea without having to worry about someone filing a similar patent.
Why Are Filing Dates Important?
At this point, you may find yourself wondering why filing dates are so important. If submitting a provisional patent application seems like a hassle to you, you may think it would be better to just wait a year until you are ready to file a patent. However, filing dates are critical as they set the date upon which an invention was disclosed to a patent office as having been made, and is the date by which the invention will be tested for novelty and non-obviousness (which are critical components in securing a patent). Having a filing date on record for your invention as soon as possible is then critical in order for you to assert your claim to your invention. If someone else comes along and files a patent for a similar invention before you do, all of the time and money you invested in your project may have been for nothing. Provisional patent applications can then be critical in helping you to secure an early filing date for your invention.
Are There Any Downsides to Filing a PPA
Unfortunately, there are certain risks and downsides that can come with filing a PPA. The main problem with PPAs is that there are no extensions on the one-year time limit for filing a non-provisional application in order to claim the filing date of your PPA. If you do not file a non-provisional application within a year of filing your PPA, you lose your original filing date. Thus, if you file a PPA too early and your project is delayed, preventing you from being able to submit a non-provisional application within a year of your PPA, filing your provisional application will have been for nothing. You would lose your filing date, and someone who filed an application after you could beat you to the finish line.
This makes it critical that you work with a patent attorney throughout the process of applying for a patent for your invention. A skilled attorney can help you to determine if/when you need to file a provisional patent application, helping to prevent any potential complications down the road. Feel free to contact us to learn more about provisional patent applications and whether or not one could benefit you.