If you are well-acquainted with patent law, the terms Provisional Patent Application and Non-Provisional Patent Application roll right off the tongue. For those not as well-versed, here's a little primer to help you sort out the differences. I'm going to unwind these by topic of interest rather than just create a list of attributes. Let's give it a go.
Terminology
Provisional Patent Application = PPA
Non-Provisional Patent Application = NPA
Term
PPA
- one-year
NPA
- 20 years from filing*
* This presumes an Issuance of the NPA. An NPA doesn't actually have a term. Rather, an issued patent has a term. The Application/Examination part of your NPA can be quite long and extended as long as you're willing to pay for continued examination.
Formalities
PPA
- Enablement and Fees.
NPA
- Lots.
Enablement means a person skilled in the art can make and use your invention. No hiding the secret sauce.
The NPA has a lot of formalities in both content and structure. If you are thinking of trying to learn all the formalities to write your own NPA... think again. There are pitfalls for the unwary that may result in the loss of your intellectual property.
Timeline
PPA
- After filing there is only the one-year expiry.
NPA
- After filing it may take 1-4 years for the examination report to be returned. Prosecution of your Application will then likely take a year. If successful, Issuance will be another six months.
Protection
PPA
- You get a priority date for your invention, which means you establish your place in line. If an inventor with the same invention gets in line before you, they win. If you get in line before them, you win. By winning I mean that your application has priority over theirs.
NPA
- If issued, you get the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, importing, inducing others to infringe, and/or offering a product specially adapted for practice of the invention as claimed. The claims define the boundaries of the invention.
This is a good time to draw closer attention to the term "exclude." Your patent rights are rights to keep others from practicing your invention, which is not the same as giving you the right to practice your invention.
What?
Yes, your issued patent will not give you any rights to make, sell, use, or practice your invention.
Why is that, you might ask?
It doesn't really matter, that's the way the law is written. I don't say this to be flip. Well, maybe a little flip. There are plenty of scholarly articles that bend over backwards to explain why the law is this way, but really, it is what it is. A better thing to do is give an example to understand how it works.
Let's say you've invented a new machine gun. (I'm using a gun example because I know it may stir some second amendment sentiments and get some folks up in arms...!) You file your firearm NPA and, in due course, receive an issued patent. Patent in hand, you start manufacturing and selling your novel firearm. Result... jail. The reason is because your patent did not impart the right to make machine guns. For that you need to consult with the appropriate federal authority to legally manufacture firearms. However, let's say a major licensed firearm manufacturer starts making the firearm claimed in your patent. Result... you have the right to try and stop them from doing that. Mostly that means either suing, working out a deal, or both.
Costs
PPA
- Filing fees are low.
NPA
- Filing fees three times as much as PPA.
The cost question depends on whether you draft your own PPA or not. As a sole inventor, you may wish to draft and file your own PPA. In that case, the costs are about as low as you can get since your time is donated. Getting an attorney to draft your PPA will cause costs to rise. In some cases as much as an NPA depending on how thorough you want to be. Preparation costs for the NPA are quite high. See my
post
on costs.
Hopefully this gives you a better idea of the differences between a PPA and an NPA. There are more differences and, as always, it's good to consult with a professional to address your specific questions.
Patent Corner... Out!