Provisional patent applications (also called PPA), are a cost saving advantage over other costlier patent applications. A provisional patent application gives an inventor one year to file a non-provisional patent application, and claim benefit of the filing date of the provisional patent application.
By filing a provisional patent application, an inventor can label an invention as “patent pending,” and explore whether filing a non-provisional patent application is a good idea. A non-provisional patent application can claim priority to the filing date of a PPA only if it complies with the legal requirements as you can see on https://www.jpost.com/Special-Content/Get-Your-Invention-Off-the-Ground-with-the-Support-of-InventHelp-624132.
It is thus vitally important to ensure that a provisional patent application fully describes all features and benefits of an invention, and additionally explains how to make a working version of the invention. A common misconception is that a provisional patent application is always a “quick” patent application.
While less time is spend drafting claims and providing alternative forms of the invention, a provisional patent application must describe all of the features and benefits of an invention to allow subsequent patent applications to claim the benefit of the priority filing date of the provisional patent application. A provisional patent application is not examined by the USPTO, and a patent will not issue from a provisional patent application.
A reasonably priced law firm charges approximately $1500 (plus USPTO filing fee for a small entity of $80) for the preparation of a basic provisional patent application. For more information about patenting an invention or an idea visit https://spacecoastdaily.com/2020/03/inventhelp-the-way-forward-for-new-inventors/.