A provisional patent application extends the deadline for filing a utility patent application by one year and it is less expensive to file than a utility patent application. A utility patent application must be filed however, within on year of filing the provisional patent application because the provisional application does not result in a patent. The cost to prepare and file a provisional patent application is $3,250.00 for most applications, of which $1,250.00 is applied to the cost of a utility patent application.
Prior to preparing and filing a provisional patent application, it is advisable to have a patentability search conducted at the US Patent and Trademark Office.
Proceed to Patentability Search Request
