Concerned with PPA “converting” to Non-Provisional
I am in the process of drafting up a software Provisional Patent Application. I have an issue in that there are parts of the system that require cryptographic signing schemes that I understand from a high-mid level how they work but since crypto is something you want to be 1000% sure about I want to be able to recruit and hire a professional crypto guy to double check my work and perhaps to give advise on potential use variations to explore or to further help with my own prior-art search and adjustments.
My plan is to file the PPA by myself, then go out and try to recruit someone to come on board to help, to avoid disclosure issues and to offer security against any of the candidates potentially swiping the invention. My main concern is my ignorance on how much leniency is given when allowing for changes between the PPA and the finalized Non-Provisional Filing such that the initial date of the PPA is extended to the Non-Provisional. I am assuming the crypto guy will be able to offer significant additions to the original invention, but I am reasonable confident that I understand the stuff well enough to be able to describe the final system in a broad enough sense such that the crypto guys additions will be along the lines of adding detail to existing aspects, and adding variations that I hadn’t originally thought of. I am intending on bringing in an actual patent attorney at this point of course to do a more rigorous prior art search and to make sure we DONT change it to the extent that it won’t be able to use the date of the PPA.
Is this a terrible idea and I should just take the risk and bring someone on board to file before I file a PPA or should I be alright?
Thanks in advance!