A provisional patent application is a useful tool for inventors who want to establish a priority date for their invention without immediately investing the time and money required to file a full non-provisional patent application.  You can easily gather information from previous Remarkable Venture Inventing steps to complete your provisional patent application.  Here are some notes to help you write a provisional patent application. 

Document your invention (Reference Remarkable Venture Inventing Step 5)

Before you can file a provisional patent application, you must have a clear and detailed description of your invention. This can include drawings, diagrams, and other visual aids to help explain your invention. 

Patent search (Reference Remarkable Venture Inventing Step 4)

You completed a patent search in Remarkable Venture Inventing step 4.   It is worth mentioning here because this is an important step in the patent process to ensure that your invention is novel and non-obvious. A patent search will help you avoid wasting time and money on a provisional patent application for an invention that is already patented or easily foreseeable by someone skilled in a relevant field.

Write a detailed description (Reference Remarkable Venture Inventing Steps 1, 4, 5 & 6)

Your provisional patent application should include a detailed description of your invention, including how it works, what problem it solves, and how it is different from other inventions in the same field. It’s important to be as specific as possible to ensure that your invention is fully disclosed and protected.  The level of detail necessary in this step is such that a reader skilled in that profession should be able to take your description and replicate and use your invention to the exact detail. 

Include drawings and diagrams (Reference Remarkable Venture Inventing Step 7)

Drawings and diagrams can be helpful to illustrate your invention and make it easier to understand. You should include multiple views and angles to ensure that all aspects of your invention are covered.  Your sales sheet in step 7 should be helpful

Determine the filing fee 

The filing fee for a provisional patent application is substantially lower than the fee for a full patent application. You can file as a small entity, micro entity or a large entity, depending on the eligibility requirements you meet: 

•  A small entity is an individual, a small business concern, or a non-profit organization that has not assigned, granted, conveyed, or licensed its patent rights to any other entity that is not a small entity. Small entities are eligible for a 50% reduction in most patent filing fees.
• A micro entity is a small entity that meets additional criteria, including having a gross income that is less than three times the median household income of the previous year and not being named on more than four previously filed patent applications. Micro entities are eligible for a 75% reduction in most patent filing fees.
• A large entity is any entity that does not qualify as a small or micro entity. Large entities are required to pay the full patent filing fees.

In 2023 the price for filing as a small entity is $120, micro entity $60 and large entity is $300.  Visit the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to verify eligibility and current rates.

File your application

Once you have completed your provisional patent application, you can file it with the USPTO. It’s important to note that a provisional patent application does not guarantee that you will be granted a patent (that is only accomplished by filing a non-provisional patent application) but it does establish a priority date for your invention.

Also, provisional patent applications must describe the invention as completely as the final non-provisional patent does.  This is why the description is very important to get right and many seek assistance from a patent attorney or patent agent.

Multiple provisional patent applications can be filed within the 12 months period so that additional details can be protected as improvements to the invention are made.  This is a common strategy used by inventors.  The non-provisional patent is still filed within the 12 month period of the initial provisional patent application and each consecutive provisional patent application is bundled together with the initial provisional patent application to show a complete description of the final non-provisional patent.  

*Note that a provisional patent application only establishes an earlier start date for a filed non-provisional patent.  The provisional patent application by itself does not offer protection if it expires without a non-provisional patent.

Benefits of filing a provisional patent application

• Lower filing fees – As mentioned, filing a provisional patent application can be cheaper than filing a full patent application. This can be helpful for inventors who want to protect their invention but don’t yet have the resources to invest in a full patent application.
• Time to fully patent the invention – A provisional patent application is included in step 10, near the end of the Remarkable Venture Inventing process. The reason for this is to give inquiring companies the full amount of time to file for a non-provisional patent (since non-provisional patents must be filed within the 12 month timeframe of your provisional patent application).  Some inventors might use a different strategy of filing a provisional patent application earlier in the process which makes sense in cases where the inventor wants additional protection early on.
• Priority date protection – Filing a provisional patent application establishes a priority date for your invention, which can be helpful in disputes over who invented first.  As mentioned, that start date is only good if a non-provisional patent is filed within the allotted 12 months.