Post # 9: How much protection does a Provisional Patent give?

Potentially, as students, we are looking to put through Provisional Patent (or Patent Pending) applications on ideas we may have. Therefore, an examination of how much protection this gives us, is important.

The USPTO defines a Provisional Patent as:

'It allows filing without a formal patent claim, oath or declaration, or any information disclosure (prior art) statement. It provides the means to establish an early effective filing date in a later filed non-provisional patent application filed under 35 U.S.C. §111(a). It also allows the term “Patent Pending” to be applied in connection with the description of the invention.'

http://www.uspto.gov/patents/resources/types/provapp.jsp

But how much protection can a provisional patent give us as innovators, entrepreneurs and inventors?

A provisional patent application only offers proof that your invention was made by the day you filled out the application  Thus, if another application is filed for the same invention after yours, yours will be the only valid one. In this way, a provisional patent offers a way to ensure that if others attempt to copy your idea, you will have a legal standing in court. Importantly,  the only instance where provisional patent applications have any legal importance is during later litigation to defeat a competitor’s later priority date.