Get Nolo Provisional Patent

Most applications are pending for one to three years. However, it can take three to five years or longer for applications involving software or electronics. The patent pending process begins the moment the USPTO receives your patent application.

A provisional application does not have the entire content of the invention to be examined and hence cannot be rejected nor can a patent be granted barely on the basis of the provisional specification.

Once a provisional patent application is filed, the applicant then has up to one year to decide whether to proceed with obtaining a patent. This 1-year period allows applicants to take on several tasks important to the commercial process, which might include: Investigating market potential. Finding investors.

How To Apply for a Provisional Patent. To start the application, you need to complete USPTO Form SB-16, which is the Provisional Application for Patent Cover Sheet. This sheet lists the names of the inventors, the title of the invention and notes the address for correspondence.

Patent pending starts from the time you submit a patent application to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). It ends when they grant or deny you a patent. Most applications are pending for one to three years. However, it can take three to five years or longer for applications involving software or electronics.

The fact that provisional patent applications are not reviewed by the Patent Office also means there are frequently no consequences for a deficient provisional patent application because many inventors never choose to file a nonprovisional patent application to actually seek a utility patent, which must be done within ...

Provisional patent applications are not published since they are not examined and they are only pending at the U.S. Patent Office for 12-months. After 12-months, a provisional patent application automatically becomes abandoned and therefore will never be published.

The provisional application papers (written description and drawings), filing fee and cover sheet can be filed electronically using EFS-Web or filed by mail. Electronically Using EFS-Web: The provisional application can be filed electronically only if EFS-Web is used.