Q: We have a provisional patent registered with an intention to convert-file for a regular patent.

A: Your situation is serious and not one for freebie answers on a service like Justia. My only advice is that you need to consult with an attorney with relevant skills ASAP. As food for thought to help you get ready for that meeting, here are some things to think about. My suggestions are not entirely useful as I have not read the NDA, the provisional, the correspondence, or looked at the differences (if any) between the company plans and what you put in your provisional. Heavy lifting needs to happen to give you a solid appraisal of this situation.

Let me give you some tips but you need to talk with your attorney. Ideally the attorney that wrote the NDA/Non-Use Agreement (a simple NDA may not be enough as they are not disclosing within the term of the year if they are just developing internally). Or the patent attorney that wrote the solid provisional application that you presumably shared with this potential partner.

It is possible that they looked at your provisional application and were not impressed. Perhaps you fell victim to the false rumors that a provisional application is just a placeholder and you can add the relevant details later. Perhaps the provisional application did not extend to the particular version of your idea that the company hopes to use. Perhaps the provisional application covered an early concept but you did not follow subsequent provisional applications to cover your evolving ideas and you have since had a public use or offer for sale of those ideas without getting a patent application filed first.

Perhaps you have a solid provisional application but the company searched the prior art and became convinced that your idea was too close to several relevant pieces of prior art and do not want to license your patent application from you if they think it is dead on arrival.

Perhaps the company sees that you have a strong provisional application and may obtain strong rights but they think that they won't need to worry as you are unlikely to have the money and will to sue them over several years at substantial outlay. Very rare for a patent attorney litigation firm to take a case on contingency.

If you found this answer helpful, you may want to look at my answers to other questions about patent law are available at the bottom of my profile page at

https://lawyers.justia.com/lawyer/kevin-e-flynn-880338

Kevin E Flynn

A: Just a terminology item.

You said -- We have disclosed this patented process

Your process is NOT patented. It is not patented until you get a set of claims from a non-provisional application through the patent office and issued as a patent. Until then you have an idea that you hope to patent. Your idea is patent pending.