Some DIY filers treat the provisional patent application like a casual placeholder, assuming they can “wing it” in the provisional application and clean things up for the non-provisional application later. That’s a dangerous mindset.
The USPTO doesn’t review provisional applications for quality. At best they’ll tell you if a crucial part, like the inventor address, is missing. That means it’s up to you to ensure the application fully supports every aspect of your invention from the start.
Why Does This Matter?
If you add new details in the non-provisional application that don’t have any basis in the provisional application, that’s considered “new matter,” and you will lose the benefit of the provisional application filing date for that material. That means that anything made public by someone else between the provisional and non-provisional filing dates could be used to reject claims related to that new matter during examination.
Here’s How to Avoid this Mistake
Treat your provisional application like a serious technical disclosure, not a napkin sketch. It’s a legal document, and the consequences of not being careful with it can be severe. Take the time to do it right.
Working with a patent attorney can take some of that burden off of you and make sure things are done properly. Also, a patent attorney will help find the parts in the description where what’s in your head didn’t make it onto the paper or discover steps that might be missing.
If you’d like help with a patent, let’s talk. You can use my contact form or book a consultation online at kingpatentlaw.com or by calling my office at 312-596-2222 or 217-714-8558.
Please check out the other posts and pages on my website for more information on patents and other intellectual property and business law issues.
