Utility Patents

1. Introduction to Utility Patents

Great ideas happen every day. But the idea, invention, or process isn’t always credited to the person who came up with it first. Sometimes, someone overhears an idea. Sometimes, you’re so excited, you’ll tell anyone who will listen about it. And sometimes, believe it or not, someone else will come up with the same invention at just about the same time.

A Provisional Application for Patent establishes your priority with a "date of invention." In other words, it tells the world "This is my invention." It’s so important to file a Provisional Application for Patent because in Patent Law, the person who comes up with an idea first may not benefit. It’s the person who takes action and files the patent application first who wins the credit.

The advantage of a provisional application is that it’s much faster and easier to file than a standard patent application. A standard patent application can take months to prepare, and it can cost $5,000 or more. With a provisional application, you will have 12 months to file a full patent application, and you can legally announce to the world: "patent pending."

Furthermore, you can tell people about the idea, seek funding for development, even begin selling the invention with the confidence your invention is protected. This gives you time to assess the invention’s complete potential. Then, you can decide if you want to spend the money on the full patent process, not to mention marketing and distribution.