Before filing a provisional patent application, it is essential to verify the exclusivity of the invention. To do this, you must make sure that no one else has come up with the same idea or that the idea is not too obvious. It is also important to note that the invention cannot have been publicly disclosed (publication, public use, sale offer) more than one year before the filing date of the provisional application. To ensure that your invention meets the requirements for a provisional patent application, you can perform a patent search at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) or on the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) website.
Provisional patent applications are attractive to inventors because they are much less expensive than traditional patent applications. They also give the applicant one year to determine if their invention will generate sufficient income to justify obtaining a patent on their intellectual property. All interim patent applications are abandoned twelve months after filing and are never examined by the patent office. When filing a provisional patent application, you don't need to include claims, which are often the most complex and difficult part of a patent application. However, it is important to have a good idea of the novelty of your invention and that you have a sufficient number of patent applications to survive the patent process.
If you're ready to file a provisional patent application, you can use Nolo's online provisional patent application.
