Patents & Patent process: beginner's guide
(part 3)
Provisional Patents
The first thing that needs to be said is that there is no such thing as a “provisional patent.” Instead, what you file is called a provisional patent application. A provisional patent application must be understood as nothing more than the first step toward receiving a patent.
Ultimately you will need to file a nonprovisional patent application in order to obtain a patent in the United States. Still, there are substantial benefits to beginning with a provisional patent application but, as with most things in life, there are pitfalls that can and do trap the unwary and unknowledgeable.
In many, if not most or even nearly all, situations the invention as you initially conceive of it will not be the invention that you ultimately want to patent. Many times you will come up with an invention and want to protect it but you know you will need to continue working on it.
There are things you want to make better, things you need more time to research and develop and in many cases you are seeking to obtain patent pending status before you have 3D renderings, engineering drawings or even an intermediate prototype.
In this context you simply cannot possibly describe everything you will ultimately want to describe because you don’t have the invention complete in its full glory.
As you progress forward with your invention you learn more each step of the way. It is best to file a patent application as soon as possible, so consider filing a provisional patent application as soon as your invention is concrete and tangible enough to describe.
Then as you make improvements you can file another provisional patent application if your want, or just move to a nonprovisional patent application.
I am a big fan of properly done provisional patent applications. For more information see The Benefits of a Provisional Patent ApplicationandThe Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Truth About Provisional Patent Applications.
Non-provisional patent applications
A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor, issued by the United States Patent Office. The right conferred by the patent grant is, in the language of the statute and of the grant itself, “the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling” the invention in the U.S. or “importing” the invention into the U.S.
In order to obtain a patent in the United States it is necessary to file a US patent application. Generally speaking you can obtain either a design patent or a utility patent. A utility patent covers the way an invention works, a design patent covers the way an invention looks.
While design patents do provide advantages and are mistakenly overlooked when you have a tangible innovation, utility patents are the strongest right and the one that most are speaking about when they simply use the term “patent.” You want a utility patent if you can get one.
In order to obtain a utility patent you must file a non-provisional patent application.
Once you file the non-provisional application and all the parts are present your application will be forwarded to a patent examiner.
The patent examiner is the one who will review the substance of your application and make sure that you are entitled to a patent.
For more information see Nonprovisional Utility Patent Applications and Overview of the US Patent Process.
[see part 4]
Acknowledgment to: Gene Quinn at www.ipwatchdog.com
