{"id":5024,"date":"2016-04-04T10:47:54","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T15:47:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/smallbusiness\/intellectual-property\/provisional-patent-application.html"},"modified":"2024-05-22T03:13:20","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T08:13:20","slug":"provisional-patent-application","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/smallbusiness\/intellectual-property\/provisional-patent-application.html","title":{"rendered":"Provisional Patent Application"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Provisional Patent Application<\/h1>\n
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Prior to June 1995, inventors did not have the option of filing a provisional patent application to protect an invention before receiving a patent<\/a>. Instead, prior to showing it to investors or to manufacturers, inventors typically protected an invention by building and testing the invention or by filing a full patent application<\/a>, so that a record of the invention existed. <\/p>\n

Although these methods did provide some protection, neither method was a practicable solution since it was not always possible to build and test complex new technologies or to take the time and effort to file a non-provisional application. Read on to learn about the benefits of filine a provisional patent application, the requirements involved, and more.  <\/p>\n

Benefits of Filing a Provisional Patent Application<\/h2>\n

Beginning on June 8, 1995, inventors received the benefit of protecting an invention without undergoing the substantial cost of filing a full patent application. A provisional patent application<\/a>, or PPA, gives an inventor up to one year of protection. Inventors that want to search for a manufacturer or that want to test the commercial market will often use a PPA as inexpensive and easy way to protect an invention from theft. A PPA provides the following additional benefits:<\/p>\n