Provisional Patent Applications: What You Need To Know, Part 4
When Should You File A Provisional Patent Application? This answer depends on your situation. Technically, a provisional patent application can be filed at any time, because there are nearly no filing requirements and provisional patent applications are not examined unless you file a non-provisional patent application. However, just because you can file a provisional patent application at any time, doesn’t make it a good idea. The filing requirements for a provisional patent application are so low that you can literally pick up a random piece of paper on your desk and file it as a provisional patent application. The USPTO processes and holds all provisional patent applications the same, regardless of content. This is why there are so many provisional patent application scams. The timing of when to file a provisional patent application is a tradeoff. As Soon As Possible: Many inventors prefer to file a provisional patent application as soon as one or more inventors can describe how to make and use the invention as it will be described in the claims to avoid getting scooped. This strategy is great for winning the “race to the patent office.” However, you will only get protection for the invention as claimed…