Q: If a U.S. Patent is granted after first being filed as a Provisional Patent, does the U.S. Patent expire on its grant...
...date or 20 years after the Provisional Patent's file date?
A:
Assuming all maintenance fees are paid and there is not a terminal disclaimer linking the end date to another patent, then the termination date is 20 years after the first non-provisional application in the family plus any bonus days extending the term through Patent Term Adjustment (PTA).
So companies looking to push out the termination date sometimes file a full application as a provisional application and then refile a year later.
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
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Kevin E Flynn
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