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Filing a Provisional Patent Application Online – Step by step Instructions
I just finished filing a provisional patent application online. It was pretty easy and it cost a total of $110. Here are the step by step instructions on how to file a provisional patent application online.
A provisional patent application must be followed within one year by a real patent application that refers back to it, or it will simply cease to exist. I recently purchased a book about how to patent ones own inventions, and I decided to do this provisional patent myself online. If you are inexperienced in the field of patents and would like to know more about them I would recommend that you get one of the many good books available and read it.
I’ve obtained utility patents and design patents over the years and had many patents rejected and abandoned. I think I have 14 issued patents and now two patents pending at the moment. Reading this book was a huge eye opener for me. After all these years I am beginning to understand this patent stuff.
I might even take a stab at a real patent application. I will still use a patent attorney when I file the real patent application if I do try to write one, but my attorney will only have to review it and m make changes, reducing the cost substantially.
What you will need in order to file a provisional patent application online:
1. A detailed description of the invention that describes how to build it and how to use it.
2. Drawings if needed to understand the description.
3. Cover sheet. (PTO Form SB/16)
4. Application datasheet (PTO Form SB/14)
$110. You can pay by credit card if filing electronically.
Detailed description of the invention
A provisional patent only requires a complete, clear, and concise specification or description of the invention and doesn’t need claims, background, and prior art disclosure. All that is really needed is that a detailed accurate description of the invention and how to use it.
I’m not going to get into the details about how to write a good specification. Your detailed description should be written for someone of “ordinary skill in the art”. That means that if you are working on an invention about a new kind of water pump for car engines, a car mechanic would certainly be someone of ordinary skill in the art.
If you are inventing a new method of cracking hydrocarbons, then I would suspect a chemical engineer would be someone of ordinary skill in the art.
Drawings for the provisional patent application
The provisional application does not need formal drawings. Just be sure the drawings are clear and readable so that when the patent examiner reviews them he will be able to understand fully your invention and how it works.
Cover Sheet – PTO Form SB/16
The cover sheet is just a form you fill out. You can download a PDF form from the USPTO website, fill it out, and save it to send to the USPTO when you file.
Go to the USPTO site.
In the pull-down menu on the left side of the top navigation bar under “Patents” click on “Patent Forms“. This takes you to the forms index page, and if you scroll down you will find all the forms. Click on the form you want to open it.
If you hold your curser over a blank in the PDF forms, it will often give you tips and suggestions about filling out that particular blank.
Application Data Sheet
The application data sheet is just another form you need to fill out. It’s PTO Form SB/14. Nothing difficult, just contact information and stuff like that.
Patent Filing Fees – The Money part
You can pay by credit card online, or mail a check, money order, or credit card info. I filed my provisional application, but when I tried to pay by credit card the USPTO website was down so I could not pay online at the time I filed. It turns out that if you are an unregistered user, which I was, you don’t get another chance and have to send the money by mail. You might have a FAX option… I don’t recall.
To pay by mail I had to fill out a Fee Transmittal Form, PTO SB/17. You mail a check and the form to the address at the bottom of the form.
Time to File your Provisional Patent Application
What I did was to put all the documents into a single folder so it would be easy to find them when it came time to upload them to the the USPTO’s EFS (Electronic Filing System).
All of your documents need to be converted to PDF files for the patent office. There are free downloadable programs that will convert your documents to PDF files. One such program is CutePDF. Just Google it.
Filing Your Provisional Patent Online – Step By Step Instructions
Step 1. Get all of your materials ready and in a folder that you know the location of so when you are asked to upload the files you know where to browse to on your hard drive.
Step 2. Go to the USPTO website Home Page
Step 3. On the left side of the pager under “PATENTS” click on Item Number 4 – “File Online“
Step 4. The page you land on will have 5 links in about the middle of the page. Assuming you are not a registered user of the EFS web, you will want to click on the link labeled: “Launch EFS-Web Unregistered eFiler“
Step 5. On this page you will need to sign in using your name and email address, and click on the “New Application” check button. That opens a window where you choose between Utility, Design or International Application. Another box opens and you check the button for “Provisional“. Click “continue” at the bottom.
Step 6. You are now presented with a form with “Application Data” at the top of the page. Fill out the boxes and click on “continue“.
Step 7. You should now be at a page where you can confirm your application data and browse to your PDF files. Then you upload the files and click on “Continue“.
Step 8. Continue through a couple of more pages where you calculate the fees, and unless you’re a huge corporation you are a small entity and so your fee should be $110. Then confirm and submit your application.
The final step is paying the fees. That’s it. You should write down your application number as the patent office isn’t going to email you anything. So when you get your 1st receipt that shows an application number, write it down.
Once you have the application number, congratulations! Your invention is now patent pending!
About the Author
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