Obtaining a Provisional Patent

A provisional patent application is not a patent, and furthermore, never becomes a patent, with the single rare exception noted below.

For more information on provisional patent applications, see .

Non-provisional

A non-provisional patent application, sometimes called a "regular" patent application or just a "patent application", is a "real" application for a patent.

For more information on non-provisional patent applications, see .

Many people think that a provisional patent application is less costly way to get a patent than a non-provisional patent application. Alternately, if they do not find someone, they plan to let the provisional patent application expire without filing a non-provisional patent application and incur no further expenses.

Provisional or Non-provisional Patent Application - Which Should You Choose?

A provisional patent is somewhat like obtaining a placeholder patent. The provisional patent is an initial patent, that is similar to a regular patent and is subject to most patent infringement laws, but it will not turn into a typical patent with all the patent rights until the applicant takes additional steps. The U.S. Patent Office has high regulations regarding provisional patents and won't hand over a provisional patent unless it meets U.S. Patent Office requirements. Patent lawyers recommend filing for a provisional patent first in many cases if the patent desired has a high likelihood of becoming someone else's very good idea. The U.S. Patent Office generally only permits provisional patents for a short time before the provisional patent holder is then required to take additional steps to obtain a regular patent. If the provisional patent holder fails to do so, then the next applicant if free to file for a patent without violating patent infringement laws.A patent lawyer can thoroughly explain all the details between a provisional patent and a regular patent. A patent lawyer can also determine whether a patent applicant is better served filing for a provisional patent first. Exceptions to patent infringement law would create patent pandemonium, which would be highly chaotic for inventors and potential patent holders.