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Legal-speak is convoluted with words that have no conventional meaning and long-winded detail. I am unsure how much my provisional patent application will cost me.
Click here and ead the table at the bottom of the page.
I'm already looking at a total of 730.00 USD
Is this correct? (I hope not!)
The fees you are quoting in the question are for a NON-PROVISIONAL patent application. As people discussed, the micro entity fees for a provisional would be $65.00.
However, provisional patent applications are not required to have claims, nor is there any cost for including claims in a provisional application. You could have none, 20 or 100 claims in a provisional and it would be the same cost. (However, NON-PROVISIONAL patent applications can have up to 20 total claims and 3 independent claims without paying extra fees).
There's no such thing as a provisional PATENT, only a provisional patent application. It is never examined so the search/etc. fees aren't calculated and I don't think you even need to have claims, much less any restrictions on quantity.
It works basically like a bookmark, indicating that you were in possession of whatever is described, as of the date filed. Typically, if you wish to actually secure a patent, you would file a utility application claiming priority to the provisional, during the 12-months before the provisional expires. If you don't the provisional application expires after 12 months, never having been published or examined (so basically still secret if you haven't otherwise disclosed it).
(JUST MY THOUGHTS, NOT LEGAL ADVICE)
I qualify as a micro entity filing as an individual with smaller means of income
The total would be $65 (assuming micro entity)
The cost required to file a provisional patent is dependent on many factors. If you qualify for micro-entity status, the fee is $65. There is no search fee because you are filing a provisional patent. Provisional patents allow up to 20 claims without additional fee.
