What is a provisional patent application?

A provisional patent application is a type of patent application used to provide protection for an invention prior to filing a non-provisional patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This application allows inventors to obtain a filing date and priority date without undertaking the more detailed non-provisional patent application process. With this protection, an inventor has one year from a provisional application’s filing date to file a corresponding non-provisional application, in order to maintain the initial filing date of the invention. A provisional application is not examined and does not result in the grant of a patent. It must be followed by a non-provisional application filed within the “priority period” of one year. The non-provisional application will be examined by the USPTO in order for the applicant to derive the benefit of their patent. In Mississippi, provisional patent applications have become increasingly popular due to the relatively low cost of filing. The provisional application is less detailed and requires less documentation than a non-provisional patent application, making the process faster and more straightforward. Furthermore, provisional applications are not published, so they provide the inventor with an additional degree of confidentiality.

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What is a provisional patent application?

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