How To File A Provisional Patent Application Online

There are several important steps to help you file a provisional patent application online. Ever since 1995, the USPTO has made legally-binding provisional patent applications, or PPAs, available to novel inventors throughout the United States. These forms of patent protection were originally designed to provide a more affordable version of intellectual property (IP) filing. As an inventor yourself, a PPA can additionally help you establish an official filing date, accelerate the commercialization period, and secure an extra year of idea protection. To help your protect your novel idea today, read on to learn how to file a provisional patent application online.

Understand What Provisional Patents Are

Before you can file, you need to know exactly what an online provisional patent application exactly is. Generally speaking, PPAs work as a short-term method to protect your novel invention or idea. That being said, they require a lot less time and effort than traditional, non-provisional utility patent applications. Despite this, both types of applications will go through the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO). However, PPA applications will not be examined by the USPTO directly. Instead, they allow you to establish an immediate filing date, which is critical for successful patent prosecution later on. Definitely, understanding PPAs is crucial to file a provisional patent application online.

Prepare Invention Drawings

Once you have a better understanding of online provisional patent protection, begin preparing some drawings for your invention. Generally speaking, you have two primary routes for preparing invention drawings. For a start, you can recruit a professional draftsperson. These expert firms know exactly what to describe in your drawings. With their help, you’ll be able to visually depict your invention, so that they can be understood by the USPTO. They can also save you a great deal of time and effort, compared to preparing drawings by yourself. If you want to work more independently, you can always try making drawings by yourself. This will help you cut out third parties, maintain control, and avoid describing your novel idea to outsiders. Absolutely, drawings preparation is crucial to file a provisional patent application online.

Hire A Patent Agent

Now, you are ready to hire a licensed provisional or utility patent agent Chicago. These expert professionals will significantly help you throughout the process of drafting, filing, and prosecuting your PPA. After all, they offer a strategic guidance, process knowledge, and high success rates. Working with an expert provisional patent agent, you can also benefit from rapid prosecution speed and legal expertise. When hiring an agent, there’s a few important things to keep in mind. For a start, you’ll need to get an end-to-end cost estimate and find a practitioner with an innovation-agent fit. You’ll also want to clearly understand their prosecution strategy. Certainly, hiring a patent agent is one of the most important steps to file a provisional patent application online.

File Your Application

At this point, it is officially time to file your provisional patent application online. Patent are traditionally filed in one of two ways. This can be through the mail, or electronically over the internet. In almost all cases, USPTO electronic eFiling options are much more simple and convenient. Whichever method you choose, you will still need to include basic information, as well as details about your invention. You’ll also need to include your specifications and drawings. Of course, you also need to include applicable filing fees for PPAs. Surely, application filing is one of the most important steps to get a provisional patent online.

Promote Your Invention

Once you have secured a provisional patent application online, you can begin to promote your invention. With a PPA, you no longer have to keep your invention a secret. In fact, you can now promote your novel idea along with it’s “Patent Pending” status. You’ll have the ability to market your innovations as soon as IP protection is secured. Of course, this will help you get ahead of your competitors. After all, you can use a PPA to reserve your spot in line with the USPTO. This will help you hold a priority filing date that is good for up to one year. Surely, this is plenty of time to finalize your invention and research additional patent protection options. Indeed, promotion is a critical post-filing step when getting a provisional patent application online.

There’s several important steps to file a provisional patent application online. First off, you need to understand exactly what a PPA is, and how they work. Next, prepare some professional drawings for your invention. Afterwards, you can hire one of the top patent attorneys in Maryland to help you navigate the drafting and filing process. At this point, it is officially time to file your application. Once you’ve done so, you can start promoting your invention to get ahead of the competition. Follow the points highlighted above to learn how to file a provisional patent application online.