Submitting patent applications or patent prosecution... Hand delivery to the USPTO in Alexandria, Virginia. Mail via U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to: Commissioner for Patents, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.
A priority claim is a helpful, and often critical, way to link a later-filed patent application to an earlier-filed patent application. Known as a priority application, the earlier-filed application must generally have common subject matter and common inventorship in order for a priority claim to be made.
(7) NO RIGHT OF PRIORITY OR BENEFIT OF EARLIEST FILING DATE. —A provisional application shall not be entitled to the right of priority of any other application under section 119 or 365(a) or to the benefit of an earlier filing date in the United States under section 120, 121, or 365(c).
What is a priority date and why does it is matter? A. Priority date refers to the earliest filing date in a family of patent applications. If the earliest-filed patent application for a particular invention was a provisional application, then the filing date of the provisional is your priority date.