Provisional Application for Patent

File a Provisional Application for Patent - Establish Your Priority Filing Date with the USPTO

A provisional application for patent establishes your priority filing date with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and lets you immediately start labeling your invention "patent pending."

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Pricing starts at $199 + filing fee

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How it works

For a more detailed view of our process, click here.

1. Complete our simple online questionnaire

Complete our simple questionnaire. If you need technical assistance at any time, our customer care specialists are available to help.

2. We conduct a Peace of Mind Review™

Your Application is Created and Reviewed Our LegalZip® system creates your Provisional Application for Patent. For your convenience, we can even create your technical drawings and perform a patent search. As an option, you can have your application reviewed by a patent professional.

3. We electronically file your application with the USPTO

Complete the Provisional Application for Patent questionnaire. If you need technical assistance at any time, our customer care specialists are available to help.

Copyright, trademark and patent: what's the difference?

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Provisional Patent Application

^$199

+ filing fee

Includes:

Completion of provisional application for patent

Digitizing and color adjustment of your technical drawings

Professional review (optional), which includes drafting one independent claim and more

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Common questions

How long does a design patent last?

The term of a design patent is 14 years, beginning on the date the patent is granted. This is in contrast to a utility patent term, which typically lasts 20 years and is measured from the application priority filing date. Design patents are not renewable and require no maintenance fees.

How long will it take to prepare my design patent application?

The process of preparing the application and technical drawings generally takes 2-3 weeks. Once the application is filed, you may legally label your design "patent pending" for the period that your application is awaiting approval.

What are the rights of a copyright holder?

The owner of a copyright has the exclusive right to do and to authorize others to do the following:

Reproduce the work
Prepare derivative works based on the work
Distribute copies of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, such as by rental, lease or lending
Perform the work publicly. This applies to literary, musical, dramatic and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works
Display the copyrighted work publicly. This applies to literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work

What works are protected by copyright?

Literary works
Musical works, including any accompanying words
Dramatic works, including any accompanying music
Pantomimes and choreographic works
Pictorial, graphic and sculptural works
Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
Sound recordings
Architectural works

These categories should be viewed broadly. For example, computer code and many "compilations" may be registered as "literary works." Maps and architectural plans may be registered as "pictorial, graphic and sculptural works."

Does copyright protect a name, title, slogan, logo or idea?

Copyright doesn't protect names, titles, slogans or short phrases. In some cases, these things may be protected as trademarks. We can assist you in registering a trademark. However, copyright protection may be appropriate for logo art work that contains sufficient creativity. In some circumstances, a logo may receive both copyright and trademark protection.

Copyright doesn't protect ideas, concepts, systems or methods of doing something. You may express your ideas in writing or drawings and claim copyright in your expression. Be aware that a copyright won't protect the idea itself as revealed in your written or artistic work. Put simply: copyright protects expressions, not ideas.

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Our agents are based in the United States.

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