At the dawn of any new business venture, creativity - of both the conceptual and legal variety - is the key to success. If you’ve come up with an idea of a patentable invention that is of a large enough scope to make filing for a patent worthwhile, it is important to understand the best method of ensuring your ideas are legally protected. As it stands, this method is, more often than not, filing for a provisional patent application (PPA). However, given the complex and nuanced nature of patent policies, there are many important factors any business looking to incorporate a PPA must keep in mind. To help provide clarification on these areas of patent law, this article will provide a comprehensive overview of the top five things any business looking to file for a PPA based in Dallas, Texas must consider.

1. Timeline

According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), a provisional patent application “will not mature into an issued patent unless the applicant files a corresponding nonprovisional patent application and obtains allowance thereof.” How much time the applicant has to file the filing also varies based on the situation, with applicants being given 12 months when filing for a US patent and 30 months when filing for an international application. Consequently, businesses looking to file their provisional patent application will need to keep in mind that although their filing for the provisional patent application offers some safeguard against their invention being stolen, all provisional applications must mature into a non-provisional application to truly ensure they obtain the patent.

2. Cost

Cost is another factor that any business looking to file for a provisional patent application must consider. For a small entity the cost of filing a provisional patent application is $130, which covers the standard issues like provisional patent fee and Application Data Sheet Fee. That said, when filing a provisional application, it is important to also note that costs can increase dramatically - in some cases second filings and additional fee payments can climb upwards into $1000 - if the applicant is filing a patent for an invention with a very narrow or specific scope. As such, any business looking to file such an application should ensure they have the necessary budget to not only properly file their provisional application, but also any additional payments they may need to make to properly secure their patent.

3. Provisional Patent Content

The content and quality of the provisional patent application's contents are often the most important factor for review and approval by the USPTO, with the patent application content needing to be of a certain level of comprehensiveness and quality in order to ensure the applicant can obtain patent rights to their invention on the subsequent non-provisional filing. As a result, applicants should ensure they provide as much detail as possible when filing their provisional patent application, including a detailed description of the invention encompassing its subject matter, objectives, function, operation, and structural components.

4. Agency to File Patent Application

Given the logistical and legal complexities of filing for a provisional patent application, the services of a local legal counsel are often the best way to ensure any applications filed by Dallas businesses are done properly and in accordance to all applicable laws and regulations. This is because, given the legal nuances and specificities, it is important to ensure you receive legal support from a lawyer who not only understands local regulations but also the USPTO guidelines and regulations when filing a patent application.

5. User Manual

Along with the actual filing of the provisional patent application, businesses should also consider the requirement of providing the user manual with the filing. This user manual is a crucial document, as it needs to also provide a detailed description of the invention as well as evidence of the inventive concept, such as proofs of concept or other evidence of early versions of the invention that have been satisfied through successful tests or studies.

In the end, there are many different factors any business looking to file for a provisional patent application should consider, but the five discussed in this article remain the general essentials. From timing and costs to fine details such as user manuals, businesses need to ensure they are prepared for and understand all facets of their patent application before moving ahead with any filing. Dallas-based businesses should also consider obtaining the services of local legal counsel to ensure their filing is properly done and does not conflict with any state or federal regulations.

Topics:

Provisional Patent Application,

Business,

Legal Protection