A provisional application is intended to provide a method for an applicant to gain an early U.S. filing date relatively inexpensively. A priority date patent establishes the priority date as the earliest date an application may claim precedence.Yes, you can claim priority to any provisional that was filed within one year of the filing date of the nonprovisional application. There is a 12-month window to file a corresponding nonprovisional patent application to benefit from the priority date of the provisional application. Filed application for patent filed in the United States may claim the benefit of, or priority to, a prior application filed in the United States. MN Lawyer Referral shares everything you need to know if you are looking to submit for a patent. For more info regarding laws on patents, call today! If I find out that someone is infringing my patent, what will the Patent Office do to protect my rights? The priority date is the date you filed the first application. A priority claim is made to an earlierfiled patent application.