Q: Provisional patents
Do I lose my right for a non-provisional patent if I file a provisional application and look for a business partner and/or an investor, since on this course I need to disclose details of the invention to several candidates? (I am not interested in 'nondisclosure agreement' option)
Dear Torche and Cogan, thank you very much for your attention and advices. I am now reading Landis on Patent Claim Drafting and the whole page of USPTO. It is a minefield!
A:
No, that is exactly the reason you file a provisional application - so that you can disclose your invention once the application was filed.
However, there are a few things to watch out for.
1. Make sure that your provisional application actually covers your invention. I have seen provisional applications that are merely cover more of an idea than an invention. The provisional application must actually describe your invention in a way that would enable someone else to actually build your invention. If the provisional application doesn't so this, it could be challenged in court should your non-provisional patent be granted.
2. Make sure that you file the non-provisional application before the 1 year deadline or you could lose the protection you relied upon to disclose your invention.
Good luck
David E Blau agrees with this answer
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A:
Be careful. Many people treat a provisional patent application as a "quick and dirty" patent application. It is not. The required level of detail is substantially the same as for a non-provisional patent application.
There are reported court decisions where an issued patent ended up being held invalid because critical information was not included in the provisional patent application.
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