8
votes
Accepted
How important are claims in provisional patents
There is no requirement for claims
Provisional applications are not examined, and therefore have no formality requirements. As long as they are validly filed, it doesn't matter precisely what format ...
- 7,043
7
votes
Accepted
Repatenting someone else's dropped provisionals
The answer to this turns on 35 USC § 102(a), which reads:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless—
(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, ...
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5
votes
Repatenting someone else's dropped provisionals
Why does it puzzle you? If it is not available to the public, it is not prior art.
I think relevant US provision is here (MPEP 901.02)
https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s901.html#...
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5
votes
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Two aspects of the same invention and one aspect is not unique
So here we have a tidy distinction between description and claims.
Description
You must provide a description sufficiently detailed that the skilled person, reading your description, would understand ...
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5
votes
Accepted
How many drawings can a patent have?
The USPTO imposes an additional fee beyond the provisional filing fee for each 50 sheets beyond 100 sheets (pages) for a provisional patent application. That fee ranges from $100 for a micro entity, $...
5
votes
Accepted
Can an idea be released into the public domain while patent is pending?
The answer is very clearly: you can release anything you want without invalidating your patent application. Actually, 18 months after the filing, the USPTO and most other patent offices will publish ...
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4
votes
Get the same patent in multiple countries
This is why the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) exists. A patent application filed as PCT may be filed in other member states.
There is a good overview of PCT filing here, and more authoritative ...
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4
votes
How important are claims in provisional patents
I think, very. As noted in the other answer, there is (probably) no legal requirement for claims. However, the whole purpose of the provisional filing is to give you a date for the invention. If you ...
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4
votes
Accepted
When exactly do you lose the provisionals priority?
The rule on this is quite tidily stated at MPEP § 211.05(I)(A) (which I hope will suffice as a legal reference of some nature):
[F]or a claim in a later filed nonprovisional application to be ...
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4
votes
Accepted
Can I make changes to provisional patent once filed?
No but kinda yes.
You cannot change the provisional patent once filed, but there are two other ways to achieve the same.
You can file another provisional and claim priority to both when filing the ...
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4
votes
Accepted
Will publishing parts of a provisional application jeopardize regular application based on it?
A provisional (or a non provisional) allows you to claim priority to it. That means, any application validly claiming priority in the period of one year after the filing will be assumed to have the ...
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4
votes
Accepted
Multiple inventions in US provisional patent, inventors in split application?
Once any non-provisional application that claims priority from a provisional is published or granted, that provisional is open for public inspection. So yes to question 1.
The provisional itself is ...
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3
votes
Accepted
Is it possible to obtain a patent on a technology I am already selling?
As far as I know, this scenario is not well-settled law in the U.S.
Prior to the changes to patent law introduced by AIA, any patent would almost certainly have been invalid if secret commercial use ...
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3
votes
PCT Application
The PCT Applicant's Guide (National Phase) is the resource you are looking for. It contains a detailed guide on the WIPO Rules and Articles from the Applicant's perspective, and covers the time limits ...
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3
votes
Can a same provisional application be filed in two different countries?
A provisional application is filed to secure an early priority date for your invention. Once you have filed a provisional application you may go ahead and file a complete application within 12 months ...
- 636
3
votes
Provisional application drawings vs non provisional patent drawings
Ideally, while drafting a provisional application one should ensure that the subject matter to be claimed by a complete application is “enabled” in the provisional application. Otherwise, a claim in ...
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3
votes
Can a provisional patent application be filed within the 1 year grace period for after public disclosure?
To obtain a patent for an invention, it should pass through various toll gates such as a)Novelty b)Obviousness c)Enablement d)subject matter and e)Industrial application.
In order to overcome ...
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3
votes
Accepted
File Provisional Application without some implementation details
It's a tough question to answer because it can depend on the particular facts of your invention. The application must describe the invention with enough detail that a software developer with an ...
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3
votes
Accepted
Why do patent description contains serial numbers like [0001], [0002] etc?
These are paragraph numbers. They are considered good practice to include since they aid referencing portions of the description, but are not mandatory.
They are described in a extremely detailed ...
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3
votes
Accepted
Can I link an unregistered eFiling to a new account?
Yes. In a USPTO pdf it states -
"Once you have your Customer Number, you must also associate your current patent
applications with it. . . .
- Download and complete the Customer Number Upload ...
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3
votes
Accepted
How important is the level of disclosure in a provisional application?
Should my provisional be written as if it were a non-provisional?
Yes.
A claim of your non-provisional application is entitled to the filing date of your provisional application if your provisional ...
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3
votes
Accepted
Does a provisional patent have to be filed through USPTO?
I am wondering if there is any legal backing for a idea that was written in a document and stored on a local file system
No, especially now that the US is in a first-inventor-to-file regime. ...
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3
votes
Are Provisional Applications ever denied filing dates?
I know an inventor who didn't get a filing date because the entire body of the short amount of text in the application was labeled something like "Summary" or "Overview". Another did get a filing ...
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3
votes
Accepted
Do you need to file Information Disclosure Statements for US Provisional Apps?
It's more than not necessary. It's not possible.
37 CFR § 1.51(d) provides:
Applicants are encouraged to file an information disclosure statement in nonprovisional applications. See § 1.97 and § 1....
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3
votes
Accepted
Step by step walk through for a United States low income patient
If you are including the steps of writing the patent then, as Eric Shain posted, the answer is at least book-length. The book Patent it Yourself is a good start. If you are asking just about the ...
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3
votes
How exactly patent priority date works when multiple priority dates claimed?
Just to clarify this question about priority dates from a European patent application perspective. Each and every claim of a European patent application has one or more effective dates (yes, a single ...
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3
votes
changing patent name on non provisional patent [that is claiming date from provisional application]
So long as the new title meets the requirements for patent titles, there should be no problem. Keep in mind that suggested changes to the title may be made to you, so it is already possible that the ...
- 522
3
votes
Accepted
Separate or single provisional patent application/s for an algorithm and presentation
As @EricS mentioned, the word algorithm will trigger the word "abstract" which is hard to get around once it is invoked.
It doesn't really matter if it is one or two provisional applications ...
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2
votes
Is there a way to get international protection on a provisional patent?
I think this is what you are after:
Can a U.S. provisional patent application be used for foreign priority purposes?
Yes. A U.S. provisional patent application is recognized internationally in all ...
2
votes
If I file a provisional patent application, could someone else file a PCT application for the same invention during the first 12 months?
My question is: if I file a provisional patent application in the USA, what's stopping someone from scooping it up and going international before I'm able to file a PCT? If so, in the first 12 months ...
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