Jen Hi,

why don’t you do it yourself. the cost is $110.00!

Jen,

You can read up on provisional patents at the USPTO. If you’ve never had one done by an attorney, I suggest you get with a patent attorney to write up the provisional. Be sure you include patent drawings, drawn to their standards. If you screw up the provisional, it can hurt you later when you file your utility patent. My attorney charges $1,000 to do a provisional. Its cheap to get it done right. I like to do a provisional and then go shop the invention before I pay the cost of a utility patent. With a provisional patent application you can use the term “Patent Pending”.

Good advice, dmccammon… My advice is this: Anyone filing documents on her/his own behalf (USPTO term: “pro se”) is likely to make irrevesable errors in presenting the disclosure. Investment in an incremental amount of time of a patent agent (or patent attorney) is generally worth it in the long run. You will find that some of us (agents) are willing to proof-read and revise your self-drafted PPA for much less than the price dmccammon mentioned.
BTW: Formal drawings aren’t necessary,but your sketches or illustrations do have to show all the essential features as completely and clearly as possible. Photos for PPA’s are OK too, but again must be clear and distinct.
TIP: If you find existing patents that show similar features or illustrations that will help illustrate and explain your invention you can incorporate the entire patent(s) merely by “reference” in the PPA. For example, if you’ve invented a new toe guard for a lawn mower, and you can find existing patents that clearly show the basic lawn mower, just include the patent number and a statement incorporating the patent(s) by reference. Not only are the illustrations considered part of your PPA, but the entire documents are considered incorporated. Good luck. dk

Hello Mr. Kelly,

How are you! could I add this to the discussion; If I register my invention USPTO with the many different concepts I can deduce my invention can be change to( evolve), and file a PPA for the concept that is most fitting or readily feasibly for a prototype or product, and add these possibilities as notes or conceptual OPTIONS in the filing process, can this serve as a better way to help a safe guard the life of my invention until the PA is filed.

Hi Shorn…just fine thanks. I can only provide general advice in this setting, but maybe this will help. As I understand your question, you are asking if your PPA can describe the most feasible embodiment of your invention…and further include alternative embodiments, features and/or structural/operational features. The general answer is yes. You should read some published patents and published patent applications to learn how to state the alternative possibilities where optional embodiments and equivalents can be utilized. (This, by the way, is a great stumbling block for “pro se” inventors.) However, I detect from you question that you are looking also toward future evolutions presently unproven. As to this point, you have to remember that your patent application (PPA and NPA) disclosure has to be “enabling.” This means that you can’t base your patent claims on a speculated invention. Let me know if I’ve missed your point. dk

Hello again Mr. Kelly,
you have totally answered my question, I’m an average inevntor and I have a few intellecutal Properties that I’m about to work with partners; so I could bring them to market. I’m contemplating a few things,so I thank you very much.

Hello to all, to Don McC I may be interested in doing business with your lawyer. I added you to friends could you contact me please thank you :0)

Mary

To Don Kelly, I just read your post and maybe you could help me. I am planning to go to the Dragons Den (Canada’s Shark Tank) auditions and will need a provisional patent as at the auditions it seems you are in a large room with many people making an NDA of no use. I know nothing about writing a provisional and am in great need of help. What is your advise? thank you :0)

Mary

Mary: My reaction is that you should file a PPA. But be certain that it’s a full and absolutely clear disclosure…and that you don’t unduly limit the structure or composition of your invention. In other words, keep it broad with room for options.
I’ll be glad to advise you on prep and filing provisional applications; even help identify someone to help draft the PPA (for self-filing) or to represent you if needed (in US and/or Canada). You have a number of options beginning at very low cost.
I’m easy to find… Snowed-in here in Alexandria, VA…with a cabin-fever puppy. Good luck w/Dragons Den.
DonK

Thank you Don. How do we get e-mails on this system? I have sent out a couple but haven’t as far as I know gotten any replies as I don’t know where to find e-mails on my dashboard. Assuming thats where they should be. :0)
Mary

Great information here.

Mary, I have had trouble sending and receiving emails using the system. I’m going to ask support about it, but just wanted to give you a heads up. Good luck!

I prepared the application for my Provisional Patent on my own and created some rough drawings that I submitted with it. From what I recall, it cost a little more than $100.00 to file.

Have you tried to do a Google search for sample Provisional Patent applications? If you were able to see some examples, you may find that it’s something you can take care of yourself.

“Have you tried to do a Google search for sample Provisional Patent applications? If you were able to see some examples, you may find that it’s something you can take care of yourself.”

True. And, anybody can file their own provisional app – it won’t be examined. But just to clarify, the best examples you will ever be able to find for good provisional patent applications – are issued patents (minus the claims). In order to hold up as legit in court if ever need be, a provisional patent application is required to hold up to the same standards as any non-provisional patent application (except it does not need to include claims).

It never hurts to try though, and $110 is a cheap price even if your primary intent is to be able to use the phrase “patent pending.”

I think the most important thing to remember about a Provisional Patent (PPA) is that you cannot add “material” in your utility patent that was not already present in the PPA. For example, let’s say you come up with a new mouse trap that uses static electricity and write this up in your PPA. If while building a prototype of the mouse trap after submitting your PPA you discovered that adding a small amount of bleach made an even better trap, but you did not mention using a chemical such as bleach in you PPA. When you write your utility patent you could not talk about using bleach because the PPA did not talk about it. The reference of bleach would be new “material” outside of your PPA. You could still file patent with the bleach reference, but you could not take advantage of your PPA and the date it was filed.

Dond, Good info thanks !

Thank you all for the informative points. Sue did you have something or someone to guide you through your application? :0)

Carrie glad you asked support about e-mails. Will be nice to have that cleared up. :0)

My clever inventor friend Dond (we met in Redwood Falls) makes some good points but I’d like to add one clarification. Actually, your NPA can add matter that is not in the initial PPA…but the added portion… which Dond accurately refers to as new matter…will not enjoy the benefit of the early PPA filing date.
So, if your NPA claim to a mouse trap includes bleach (but not the PPA) and the examiner is rejecting the claim based on a previous patent having a filing date (which typically is the effective reference date) falling after your PPA date, but before your NPA date, the examiner’s position may prevail. I say “may” since there is more to it…but that stuff can be sooo boring. Either way, you’re likely to end up with a dead blond mouse.
Seriously….
the takeaway should be: Present a PPA that fully and clearly supports all the elements of the subsequent NPA. If you need to add something before the NPA is due, file a second, third etc. PPA. Then file the NPA within a year of the initial PPA, references all PPA’s. Let the examiner figure out what her/his reference dates have to be in order to reject the claim.
Don Kelly …snowed in at… www.patentagentplus.com

Thanks Don for the clarification. I did not think about filing follow on PPAs on the same idea and expanding on the idea each time within the 12 month period of the initial PPA. Nothing more fun than making the examiners a little more crazy. I think in a previous post days ago you mentioned you were snowed in with a new puppy. Perhaps if you hold the little guy outside briefly and it sees its shadow, then you’ll know ….. Stay warm.

Thank you guys for the information. Sure wish I knew what to do lol. As mentioned you don’t want to get it wrong. :0)

Mary ~ The PPA is not really difficult to deal with. Please don’t be discouraged by
the mind-bending nitty gritty details. The patent examiner who would examine your non-provisional application (which you may or may not file- – depending on the Dragon Den outcome) is highly unlikely to ever read your provisional…and the filing date stuff I talked about is unlikely to matter. If you’re in Canada, have you considered Canadian provisional?
I don’t know Canada patent law very well, but I think that filing a provisonal before the Canadian Patent Office is simpler than the USA PPA. I “think” the Canadian system gives the inventor 15 months to “complete” the application (in the USA, the provisional has a fixed 12 month life…and a separate, formal non-provisional must be filed w/in the 12 months). I believe the Canadian rules permit extension of the 15 month period with fee payment…and, interestingly, permits additions of new matter at the completion stage. Again, US Patent Law is enough for me to absorb — I don’t pretend to know Canadian laws/rules. I can’t advise you there. However, I have a longtime friend who is registered to practice patent law both in the US & Canada…and I will be happy to introduce the two of you. I’m at patentagentplus.com …where my snow-bound puppy barked at his shadow, declaring another 12 weeks of winter.
Don Kelly

Great thank you Don I will look you up on your site thanks :o)

Don I e-mailed you at your site hope it worked. Anyone who may have e-mailed me I just found out that they go to my junk mail so I may have deleted them if I didn’t recognize your names. Sorry about that. Please try again and put EDISON in the subject that I may know where they are from thank you. Don I looked up the Canadian Patent site they don’t seem to have the option for a provisional. :o)

Mary,
Good info, I have sent some messages out to people including you and never got a response. Now I know why!

Well if you remember what it was about lol send it again with edison in the subject and i will read it. :o)

Mary…4 hours later…no marymail.
But I often have slow communications w/CA.
Watching the Winter Olympics and loving a visual revisit to Vancouver. Visited there for a week two yrs ago. Fell in love (w/the city) ;-)
What a country. I love hearing the people singing the CA national anthem.
Contact me and I’ll connect you with a couple of CA IP authorities…or help w/US PPA advice.
Don K
em donkelly@patentagentplus.com Alterative em dgrantk@aol.com

Don did you get my e-mail? :o)

mary ~ no…I don’t think so. :>\
…maybe i overlooked it when cleaning
out spam?
please try again. add the word CANADA to the subject header.
dk

Mary
Rec’d your em this AM…finally. :>D
dk

Mary
I used www.24hrpatent.com. You can file a provisional for very resonable prices. You provide all the information you can. They diagnose, write into geek speak and let you make edits before it is sent in. I have had multiple provisional and Trademarks done with them. So far so good without major dammage to the wallet.

Richard

I have a provisional patent applied for and it’s time is about up in a few weeks and I feel it will be beneficial in the future to have a non-provisional patent. My dilemma is I don’t have the funds to apply for a non-provisional patent and we’re launching the product as I speak. Is there away of getting an extension for a provisional patent or something less expensive and time consuming that a full patent application to buy me some time? Help from anyone would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Yes just send in a new revised version making any small changes you need and wa la you are back in the run for another year. You can call the patent office anytime they will tell you any of this. It will also keep you ahead of anyone that maybe trying to get your idea. P.S Make sure it is done before the old one runs out, within a few weeks. Good luck.

Thank you Richard for the contact, much appreciated. Its difficult to know who to deal with without being taken for a ride. Tim I know you can file another provisional but believe it will change your priority date. Call the USPTO or an agent they will give you in proper information. Good luck with your project.

Mary :o)

Eric and Mary,

Thanks for the info that’s what I was hoping for and that’s what I’ll do. If anybody would like to see our product go to info@jappleseedfoodgarden.com the site is being updated but will be complete soon. I developed the raised garden bed system,I just improved on some existing and created new technology in the process. Hopefully this is something that will get people eating better because it will be so easier to build a garden. Let me know what you think. Thanks.