Let me begin with the following: There is no such thing as a provisional patent application india. However, it is possible to submit a provisional patent application.
While a provisional patent application will never be granted, it can be a very useful tool for inventors if executed correctly and under the right conditions. This is especially true now that the United States is a first-to-file nation. This means that inventors must first file before using their invention in public, selling it, or revealing anything about it.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has provided inventors with the option to submit a provisional patent application ever since June 8, 1995. The non-provisional utility patent application’s earliest filing date on this date changed the patent term from 17 years to 20 years. However, changing the patent term in this manner would have produced a peculiarity. Before filing overseas, you must first obtain a foreign filing license when inventing in the United States. The easiest way to accomplish this is to submit a patent application in the United States; However, if you submit a non-provisional utility patent application, the patent term clock will start to tick. Outside of the United States, inventors would be able to file a patent application in the country in which they reside, which would lock in priority but would not start the patent term clock because the patent term begins with the filing of a U.S. non-provisional patent application rather than a foreign patent application.
To address this issue, Congress simultaneously issued a provisional patent application that would have granted foreign nationals more rights than U.S. citizens. In contrast to a foreign application, it does not start the patent term clock and can be filed by anyone. Additionally, it sets your priority filing date. With a provisional patent application, you can take advantage of a priority filing date without having to wait for the start of the patent term.
With a provisional patent application, you can also get a cheaper first patent filing. As of this writing, a provisional patent application for a small entity costs $150 (or $75 if the applicant qualifies as a micro entity), whereas a non-provisional patent application costs $910 (or $405 if the applicant qualifies as a micro entity). For additional information regarding fees, please refer to the USPTO Fee Schedule.
Provisional applications, which are submitted to the USPTO on behalf of a U.S. national, allow for filing without requiring a formal declaration, oath, or patent claim. Because the emphasis is placed on providing the most comprehensive description of the invention that is possible, many of the formalistic requirements that are included in a non-provisional patent application are unnecessary. An early effective filing date for a non-provisional patent application that is later filed can also be set with the help of a provisional patent application. In addition, it makes it possible to describe the invention using the term “Patent Pending.”
A provisional patent application’s pendency lasts for one year from the filing date. The twelve-month pendency period cannot be extended except in exceptional circumstances. As a result, within a year, an applicant must submit a non-provisional patent application asserting priority over a provisional patent application. If you miss the 12-month deadline, you may be granted an additional two months to claim priority to the provisional in exceptional circumstances. However, there is currently a significant fee of $525 for micro entities and $1,050 for small entities for this. The additional two months can only be used if there was a clerical error that prevented the application from being filed within a year, such as missing a deadline. As a result, you should never believe that you have more than one year to file a non-provisional patent application asserting priority over a provisional application that has already been filed. This is best practice. It is difficult to justify the cost of the additional two months.
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