What To Do After Filing Your Provisional Patent

• What is a Provisional Patent?
• Information that contains in a Provisional Patent
• What to do after filing a provisional patent?

What is a Provisional Patent?

A provisional patent works effectively as an interim utility patent administered by the patent office. It may be filed without any claims, oath, declaration, or disclosure agreement. Even without such documents, a provisional license gives the patent owner protection over his or her idea or product. It is valid for one year, following which the owner must file a regular patent application. Having an approval of a provisional patent gives the owner the right to use the tag Patent Pending while engaging with manufacturers and vendors. Such a tag also acts as a deterrent to people who wish to commercially exploit the idea or invention. It serves as a low-cost preliminary step preceding the filing of a non-provisional patent. The one additional year of protection it provides allows the inventor to evaluate the market potential of the product and promote it.

What Information does a Provisional Patent Contain?

• Title of the invention
• Provisional specifications
• Invention’s descriptions
• Field of the invention
• Objective of such an invention

What to do after filing a provisional patent?

Step 1

Make the required changes: The provisional patent is only the beginning step towards filing a complete patent. Therefore once you are done, you should start evaluating how to better the patent. You will need to make changes, add clauses, declare oaths, and do some research to better the patent. The final version of your idea or innovation must be present in the best possible way in a full license. Since the provisional patent is filed in the beginning stages, there will be various changes that will have to be made later on. Therefore, lawyers should be approached, and a well-thought-out plan must be put in place to make all the required changes.

Step 2

Try out various versions and try to figure out which version does the best justice to your idea or innovation. Take the advice of professionals and lawyers to ensure that your patent will have all the right declarations and disclaimers in place.

Step 3

In case your product undergoes multiple iterations and changes, it might be better to file a provisional secondary patent. One great advantage that provisional licenses provide is that various patents may be registered for a single complete patent. Therefore, you can link multiple such provisional patents to a unique, full patent. Thus, inventors should make use of this clause to follow up on the development process of their product or innovation. Finally, once the product is ready, make sure you consolidate all the non-complete patents into one final license, which captures all the aspects of the final product.

Step 4

Since a provisional patent is valid for a year, use this time to find investors for your product. Once the patent process is over, the inventor will need to find vendors and manufacturers to mass-produce the product. Therefore, they can use this one year to find the right investors and promoters.

Step 5

Also, you can use this time to promote the product commercially. To sell the product after the patent becomes acceptable, the company will have to initiate some buying interest. To generate public interest, it is better if the companies invest in some paid promotions. This will help highlight the uses of the product while also showcasing all of its features. If the public is more aware of the product’s characteristics and uses, they will be more likely to buy the product. However, such marketing and promotion should only take place if the owner is sure that the product will do well once mass-produced.

Step 6

Owners can utilize this time to conduct market analysis. In case the owner is unsure if the full product will sell, they can use this one year to analyze the market. Once the investigation is complete, the owner will have a better understanding of how the market works. Such knowledge will also help the owner decide on what is the best way to promote and market the product.

Step 7

Furthermore, owners can also use this time to investigate and analyze how to go about obtaining a foreign patent. If the innovator plans on expanding their business to international destinations, then this is a critical step that must be undertaken. During this period, the owner can engage in talks with foreign correspondents to know how to move for a patent that will be applicable abroad.

Why File A Provisional Patent?

If you are an investor or inventor looking to protect your first invention or idea, you must have heard of patents. These help you prevent others from commercially exploiting your concept. How exactly does a patent work? Is it too difficult to get and is there anything more natural that will do the same job? Provisional patents work as an interim utility patent which allows users to protect their best interests. These are easier to get approval and are also a more affordable, cost-effective option. So why should you opt for provisional patents? Here’s a look at why you should file a provisional patent.

• What are the types of patents available?
• What is a provisional patent application?
• Importance of Filing a Provisional Patent Specification
• What to know before filing a provisional patent

What are the types of patents available?

According to Section 9 of the Indian Patent Act, 1970 in India, there are two kinds of patents that may be filed.

1.Provisional Patent Application

2.Complete or Non-Provisional Patent Application

What is a provisional patent application?

A provisional patent application serves as an interim or beginning application which inventors can file before filing a complete patent. Such a license need not have any claims or oaths but instead requires less legal formalities. To get a provisional patent application approval, the inventor needs to only describe the invention broadly. It serves before the complete patent application is filed, and helps the inventor promote the product, look for inventors, and continue developing the product. While it is not an absolute patent, it possesses several advantages and benefits that a complete patent does not. Here’s a look at why you should consider filing a provisional patent.

Importance of Filing a Provisional Patent Specification

Step 1

Prevents others from filing patents for similar sounding or looking inventions. Hence, such licenses will not get priority over the provisional patent holder’s design.

Step 2

If a dispute occurs over the ownership of an idea or invention, then the Patent Office will favor the provisional patent holder’s design.

Step 3

When compared to complete patents, the initial cost of filing a provisional patent is much lower. Therefore, this is a much more cost-effective and affordable method of registering for a license.

Step 4

It also requires a lot less legal documents when compared to the complete patent. Hence, it requires less time, legal advice, and effort to file. Additionally, making it opt for young inventors and entrepreneurs who do not have a lot of resources.

Step 5

Since the provisional patent does not require a lot of significant resources, the application may be filed by the inventor or entrepreneur themself.

Step 6

A provisional patent gives inventors the time to develop their product without any worries. Since the provisional patent is valid for one year, the inventor gets a whole year to look for investors and improve the product.

Step 7

The period of 12 months can be put to use for researching the impact of the product, analyzing how the product will do in the market, and also its commercial viability.

Step 8

This time can also commercially promote the product and look for suitable vendors and manufacturers.

Step 9

Once the provisional patent application is made, the owner is allowed to use the tag Patent Pending. Such a tag helps in protecting the asset from being copied and exploited.

Step 10

The term Patent Pending also lends a lot of credibility to the product, helping in improving its commercial viability and excellent selling point.

Step 11

In case market studies show that the product will not be viable, they can choose to abandon the patent and not file a complete patent. Therefore, a provisional license lowers the risk that inventors have to face concerning abandonment.

Step 12

Since the provisional patent application does not require any publishing, the data regarding the product can be kept a secret.

What to know before filing a provisional patent?

• While the complete patent is an official document file that defines the scope of the invention, the provisional patent lays the foundation for the complete patent.
• In case someone files a patent for a similar product, the Patent Office will favor the provisional patent holder’s product.
• Filing a provisional patent is more or less an initial step towards a complete patent registration.
• In case a complete patent registration is not able to file within 12 months of filing a provisional patent, the patent is considered abandoned.
• While filing a provisional patent, one should maintain confidentiality. However, while presenting a complete patent, full disclosure must be done.
• To conceptualize and visualize a future design, setting the ground rules for a provisional patent helps significantly.
• In case you are in the research and development stage, then filing a provisional patent will help you keep developing the product while looking for investors.
• After filing a provisional patent, you can spend time on prototyping and building experiment. This results to quantify and validate a complete patent application.
• However, users must understand that filing a provisional patent is an optional step that they can choose to forego if they find it unnecessary.