Provisional Patent Application Drawings

Due to the provisional patent application being a shorter simpler form than a full patent application some believe that the requirements also differ and that drawings are unnecessary.

Provisional patent application drawings.

The provisional application is a short term means of protecting an invention or concept and requires less effort and expense than a formal patent application non provisional patent application. Provisional patent applications are not required to have drawings however including drawings is a good idea because they expand the scope of a provisional patent. Patent and trademark office uspto the federal agency charged with registering and managing patent applications requires applicants to submit drawings of their invention if such drawings are necessary to understand its workings. Any nonprovisional utility patent application filed after september 16 2012 claiming the benefit of one or more prior filed copending nonprovisional applications or international applications designating the united states of america under 35 u s c.

Both processes get submitted to uspto. As of january 16 2018 the uspto small entity filing fee is 140 for provisional patent applications having 100 or fewer pages of specification and drawings. You can use black and white or color photographs computer created drawings or handmade drawings. Having a somewhat broad provisional patent helps some applicants avoid problems down the road when it comes time to file a regular nonprovisional patent application that relates back to an earlier filed provisional patent.

There is a popular misconception about drawings in provisional patent applications. The application protection expires after 12 months whether or not its inventor files a full patent application. There are no rules for provisional patent application drawings except that they must be understandable and fit into a regular file folder. This is a common assertion with non attorney patent applications services.

Many believe that drawings are not necessary in provisional patent applications. A provisional application is not required to have a formal patent claim or an oath or declaration. 120 121 or 365 c or to a provisional patent application under 35 u s c. Drawings in a provisional patent application.

National application filed in the uspto under 35 u s c. A provisional application for patent provisional application is a u s. According to the uspto the vast majority of patent applications contain.