A provisional patent application is a patent application that describes your invention in words and optionally with drawings or pictures, and when filed with the United States Patent Office, receives a serial number and a filing date.
On the same day that you file your provisional patent application with the United States Patent Office, you can mark your invention (brochures describing your invention, etc.) with the words “Patent Pending” (or “Pat. Pend.” for short). This is the same as filing a regular patent application. The difference is, a provisional patent application is never examined by the U.S. Patent Office and automatically goes abandoned after one year from the filing date.
Why then, you might ask, should I file a provisional patent application, if it is simply going to go abandoned after one year? There are a number of reasons you may want to file a provisional patent application instead of a regular patent application. Your patent attorney should discuss these with you so that you are comfortable making an informed decision for proceeding to protect your invention.
You might also be interested reading . . .
“Why won’t my patent attorney file a provisional patent application?”
“Top 5 reasons to file a provisional patent application.”
“Top 5 reasons NOT to file a provisional patent application.“
