If you want to patent an invention, you must submit a non-provisional utility patent application. A non-provisional utility patent application has various documents that you should docket properly. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is a government agency and based out of the U.S. The USPTO is responsible for examining patent applications and accepting or refusing them. Similarly, the Indian Patent Office (IPO) accepts the applications of applicants seeking patents, trademarks, or copyrights. The IPO maintains the database of patents issued by it in India. The USPTO has defined three types of patents: utility, design, and plant. Moreover, utility patent and plant patents have two types of applications: provisional and non-provisional. In this article, we’re going to learn about provisional and non-provisional utility patent application.
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Provisional and Non-provisional Utility Patent Application
Utility patent applications are classified as a provisional and non-provisional patent application. The USPTO has specifically mentioned guidelines for provisional and non-provisional patent applications. You may submit a provisional patent application when your invention is in the early stage of development. Moreover, there are fewer legal formalities to adhere to when filing a provisional application than a non-provisional application.
Provisional Utility Patent Application
As discussed above, a provisional patent application has to follow slightly fewer protocols than a non-provisional patent application. Moreover, a provisional utility application needs only a few documents. Generally, an applicant files a provisional utility patent application when he/she is still working on the invention. We recommend you file a provisional application at the initial phase of your invention. The USPTO gives the pendency-period of 12 months to applicants to file corresponding non-provisional applications. Moreover, applicants can get early U.S. filing dates for their invention. Later, applicants may use the U.S. filing date at the time of filing non-provisional applications.
However, once the pendency-period is over, the USPTO abandons provisional applications. If you want to take the benefit of the early filing date, you must file a non-provisional application before the ending of 12 months.
Non-provisional Utility Patent Application
You can file a complete non-provisional utility patent application online through the electronic filing system, EFS-Web. However, the USPTO hasn’t discarded the traditional way of accepting applications. You can either mail or hand-deliver your patent application to the USPTO. However, in the previous option, you need to pay a non-electronic filing fee of $400. You have to furnish your patent application in the English language. If the application is in another language, you must provide accurate translation in the English language. In the next section, we’re going to see the necessary elements of a non-provisional patent application.
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The Necessary Elements of a Non-provisional Utility Patent Application
According to the statistics published by the USPTO, the government agency receives over 500,000 patent applications. The USPTO won’t grant you a patent if your application isn’t complete. Therefore, you must know the important elements required in a non-provisional application. Your patent application should include the elements listed below:
Utility Patent Application Transmittal Form or Transmittal Letter
The USPTO has issued guidelines for applicants patenting their invention. The office won’t accept a patent application without a transmittal form. You need to put a transmittal form in your patent application. The form holds information about the invention and the inventor.
Appropriate Fees
The USPTO is a government agency and charges fees for various services: patent filing, patent search, patent examination, and so on. Moreover, the USPTO revises fees every year in October. Therefore, before filing a patent application, you must check out the current fees.
Application Data Sheet
All non-provisional patent applications should furnish the Application Data Sheet (ADS) to the USPTO. Applicants must make the domestic benefit claims and foreign priority claims in ADS.
Specification
A patent application without specification is incomplete, and the Office will mark it invalid. The specification is the most important part of an invention. The examiner should be able to understand the subject matter of an invention. The specification should be concise, and anyone with the knowledge of the subject matter can reproduce the invention. Moreover, specification tells about the invention and covers operational features aptly.
Drawings
A picture can replace a thousand words. It’s true in the case of filing a patent application. Drawings help in understanding the subject matter of the invention. Moreover, patent drawings are a physical representation of the invention. Therefore, you must include as many drawings as you can in your patent application.
Oath or Declaration
An oath or declaration is necessary for non-provisional patent application. The inventor has to declare certain statements regarding the invention. Moreover, the applicant must provide the declaration form undersigned by himself/herself to the USPTO.
- Nucleotide and Amino Acid Sequence Listing (when necessary)
- Large Tables or Computer Listings (when necessary)
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