Free Provisional Patent Application

A customer number allows all filings and correspondence to be associated with a single mailing address, eliminating typographical errors or variations in addresses that can make it difficult to correspond with the USPTO.

You can apply for a unique customer number by downloading and filling out the Request for Customer Number form. Fax the form to the USPTO's Electronic Business Center at 571-273-0177.

Drawings must be submitted with a provisional patent application where necessary for understanding the invention you seek to patent. If they are not necessary, do not submit them. (If you are unsure about whether inventions are necessary, then you should consult a registered patent lawyer.) Drawings must show every part of your invention that you mention in the description. You do not have to submit professional-quality drawings.

Drawings are generally done in black ink on white paper. Color drawings and photographs are permitted only after petitioning the USPTO. Check with your lawyer or the USPTO http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/drawing.htm for complete rules. You may also submit flowcharts, electrical schematics, and similar illustrative means where they would apply, such as with a software invention or an electrical invention.

Each figure and each part or step of your invention should be labeled and numbered as well. Make sure your drawings are accurate and made to scale.

How to add drawings to this form:

• In the interview, indicate the names of all your drawings or illustrations as well as a descriptive caption. A placeholder will be created for each drawing you name.
  
• After you have finished the interview process, open your application. You will see the application in the online word processor.
  
• Just above the preview of your application, click on the Edit menu. Choose Edit in the online word processor.
  
• Find the placeholders for the drawings in your application and click the Picture icon to upload your drawing images into your application.
  
• Click Save when you are done adding your drawings.

The USPTO Electronic Filing System (EFS-Web) is an easy-to-use, web-based platform available to anyone who wishes to file their patent application online. As of July 2010, 89% of patent applications are filed electronically via EFS-Web.
EFS-Web is Safe. Filings made with EFS-Web provide you with the same legal protection as paper-based filings. You receive an electronic receipt and confirmation, as well as the ability to print the receipt for your records, confirming your receipt date.
EFS-Web is Simple. Even the largest and most complex patent applications can be submitted by attaching files and filling out a few simple Web screens.
EFS-Web is Secure. EFS-Web submissions are protected through state-of-the-art security methods.
EFS-Web is Fast. In just a few minutes, you can submit a patent application, pay for your filing, and receive an acknowledgement receipt.
EFS-Web is Analytical. EFS-Web validates whether the files and data you are trying to file can be accepted before they are submitted, If there is a problem, EFS-Web will tell you why and the document cannot be submitted - allowing you to take corrective action.

You can file online with the USPTO.

For more information about EFS-Web, including EFS-Web Quick Start Guides and frequently asked questions click here.

New and non-obvious uses for existing inventions are patentable. These improvements should be sufficiently different from what already exists to be grated a patent. Emphasize the differences between your invention and the existing invention when you describe any improvements.

To be eligible for a patent, an invention must fall within one of the following classes as defined by the USPTO. If you have trouble determining which class your invention falls under, simply pick the class that best describes your invention. The USPTO will assist you in making the final determination.

Method or Process
Method or process inventions include methods or processes used in business/commerce, methods or processes used to produce an object or effect, and improvements to existing inventions.

Mechanical
Mechanical inventions include complex or simple machines, devices, apparatuses; objects that perform a function, objects that are used to bring about a particular result, motorized objects, and engines.

Electrical
Electrical inventions include electronic devices and objects which utilize electrical components to perform functions.

Software
Software inventions include computer programs and similar methods of instructing an object to perform a function or to produce a result.

Chemical Compositions
Chemical compositions are inventions composed of specific combinations of chemicals.

The Invention Description should explain everything about your invention. After reading the description, any person skilled in the art to which the invention pertains should be able to make and use the invention. The description must set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor for carrying out the invention. Details are essential.

What does the invention do?
Describe how your invention solves a problem or how your invention makes a task easier or how your invention renders a new product, experience, or opportunity. Those are the ideas you must convey. There should be an advantage offered by using your invention. Use this section to support the assertion that your invention is novel and non-obvious. The invention must go where no other invention has gone before.

Example: This dual-drawer dishwashing machine is an invention that permits users to wash smaller loads of dishes with less water than they would if they put a smaller load in a standard dishwashing machine. This invention makes it possible for some dishes to be cleaned on a heavy duty setting while others are cleaned on a normal setting.

How does the invention work?
Describe how your invention works. Give a detailed description of each step or part of the invention. Talk about which parts or steps are necessary and which are optional. Mention any variations in the steps or parts that produce the same result when using the invention.

If you submit drawings, refer to them by Figure number and/or by labeled components when you discuss a step or part of the invention. Repeat the same names or words and numbers for labeled portions as you discuss the invention.

Discuss the relative sizes of the parts of your invention. Describe how any parts are connected to one another. Describe the sequence of events of any steps in your invention. Tell how the steps or parts of your invention interact. Explain the conditions required for your invention to work.

Example: Drawer 1 shown in Fig. 2 slides on tracks 1 and 2, which are attached by screws to main compartment 1. Drawer 1 is 17 inches deep, 12 inches tall and 20 inches wide. Handle 1 on drawer 1 may be made of heavy-duty plastic. Buttons 1, 2, 3, and 4 in Fig. 3 are the electronic controls for drawer 1.

Remember that this part of the description needs to be detailed enough that someone with average skill in the industry to which your invention applies would be able to duplicate the invention.

How does someone use the invention?
Describe who would use the invention and what they would use the invention to achieve. Example: Owners of standard dishwashers would use this invention to clean all types of dishwasher-safe utensils, flatware, drinking vessels, pots, and pans. They would place the utensils and flatware in drawer 1, add soap to receptacle 1, and commence a wash cycle on the normal setting by pressing button 2 on drawer 1.

The Invention Summary should tell what your invention is or does and explain why it is 'new and useful' and 'non-obvious.' The summary is not a detailed explanation of how your invention functions. Save that for the description.

Example: The invention is a dual-drawer dishwashing machine that allows users to wash simultaneously separate loads of dishes on different cycle setting.

The title of your invention should be short and generic. You should not use any name(s) that you would use to market the invention.

Examples: Mousetrap, Window-Sealing Device, Word-Processing Software, and Method of Creating Online Social-Networks.

The patent law of the United States of America requires that the applicant in a patent application must be the inventor. There are a few exceptions, such as when the inventor has died or if an inventor is not legally competent. In those cases, there must be a legally-authorized party, such as the estate of the deceased or a legal guardian, who can apply on behalf of the inventor. If you are neither the inventor nor an authorized party, then you cannot file a provisional or non-provisional patent application.

Ownership issues arise when an invention was 1) made under a contract with the federal government, 2) made with funds from the federal government, 3) made under an employment agreement where the inventor relinquished ownership rights to the invention, and 4) made by an inventor who was hired specifically to create the invention. If any of those apply to the invention for which you are completing a patent application, then you should seek legal counsel before you continue.

A joint-inventor generally is someone who contributes something to the novelty and non-obviousness of the invention. If multiple inventors created an invention, then they must all apply jointly for the patent. Inventors may apply jointly even though 1) they did not physically work together or at the same time, 2) each did not make the same type or amount of contribution, and 3) each did not make a contribution to the subject matter of every claim of the patent.

If a joint inventor refuses to join the application or if the joint inventor cannot be found, the other inventor(s) may proceed with the application upon proof of pertinent facts. If this is your situation, you should seek legal counsel.

Think broadly when you discuss other uses for your invention. Ideally, you would like your patent to have as wide a scope as possible. So, explain any other ways the invention can be used, any other practice areas or technology fields where the invention may apply or be used, and any other ways to construct your invention -- even if the other uses, areas, and ways are neither ideal nor uncomplicated.

The USPTO grants patents for new and non-obvious material. Pre-existing inventions (even if unpatented) and pre-existing knowledge about the subject matter of your invention is known as Prior Art. Your application should address prior art if it exists, and it must show why your invention is different from and/or an improvement over prior art.

You will provide a detailed explanation of prior art in the non-provisional patent application that you will file, but you should also address prior art, with less detail, in the provisional patent application.

A patent lawyer is best suited to help you find pre-existing inventions. If you choose to conduct your own patent search, try the USPTO website, Google Patents or another service such as Free Patents Online.

The provisional patent application is designed to provide a lower-cost first patent filing in the United States. It allows patent filing without a formal patent claim, oath or declaration, or any information disclosure statement of pre-existing inventions (prior art). It also allows the term "Patent Pending" to be applied in connection with the description of the invention. By filing a provisional patent, the inventor benefits in three ways:

1. The ability to patent the invention can be assessed with less cost and effort than going through the full non-provisional patent process.
2. The resulting publication or patent will be given the earlier provisional application filing date.
3. The twenty-year patent term is still measured from the later non-provisional application filing date.

A provisional patent application is good for 12 months from the date it is filed. The 12-month period cannot be extended. Therefore, an applicant who files a provisional application must file a corresponding non-provisional patent application during the 12-month period to benefit from the earlier filing date. By filing a provisional application first, and then filing a corresponding non-provisional application that references the provisional application within the 12-month provisional application pendency period, the term of a patent can be extended by as much as 12 months.

1. The ability to patent the invention can be assessed with less cost and effort than going through the full non-provisional patent process.
2. The resulting publication or patent will be given the earlier provisional application filing date.
3. The twenty-year patent term is still measured from the later non-provisional application filing date.

A provisional patent application is good for 12 months from the date it is filed. The 12-month period cannot be extended. Therefore, an applicant who files a provisional application must file a corresponding non-provisional patent application during the 12-month period to benefit from the earlier filing date. By filing a provisional application first, and then filing a corresponding non-provisional application that references the provisional application within the 12-month provisional application pendency period, the term of a patent can be extended by as much as 12 months.

1. The Provisional Patent Application must be signed and dated where indicated
2. The application must include a check of money order made payable to the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The amount should be $110 or $220 if the inventor is a for-profit company with more than 500 employees.
3. Send the completed application and fee by mail to Commissioner for Patents, P. O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450.
4. Alternatively, you can use the information you have gathered in this document to submit your application electronically at the USPTO website here: http://www.uspto.gov/main/patents.htm.

The provisional patent application filing fee varies based on entity-size. Certain persons, small business concerns, and non-profit organizations qualify as small entities and must pay $125 to file the provisional patent applications. Generally, an inventor qualifies for small entity status if the inventor �has not assigned, granted, conveyed, or licensed, and is under no obligation under contract or law to assign, grant, convey, or license, any rights in the invention. (37 CFR 1.27) Other entities must pay $250 to file the provisional patent application.