Patent Myths from BlueIron: You Should Never File A Provisional Patent Application A commonly touted tactic for startup companies is costing them valuable time, investments, and profits.

“Provisional patent applications are widely touted as the go-to thing for startup companies or independent inventors, but they are always the wrong thing to do,” says Russ Krajec, CEO of BlueIron, a company providing IP-related funding for emerging companies.



A provisional patent application has a lower filing fee than a conventional, non-provisional patent application, and many patent attorneys will do provisional applications for much less than a “full” or non-provisional patent application. A provisional patent application has a one-year deadline to convert to a non-provisional patent application, so many people use this opportunity to add more material to the patent application.



Even the United States Patent and Trademark Office suggest that independent inventors use the provisional patent application route.



“From a business and economic standpoint, the provisional patent application creates more problems than it solves,” says Krajec, a registered patent attorney. “The provisional application process is designed to delay getting a patent, but in almost every situation, it is better to speed up the process – the exact opposite of the provisional.”



The faster a company can get its patent, the faster the company can license and enforce their technology. The faster the patent issues, the more value the company has when it is raising money or getting loans using IP as collateral.



“The difference in filing fees between a provisional and non-provisional patent application is about $600. When raising money, a provisional patent application screams to an investor ‘I don’t think this patent application was worth the extra $600 to file it as a non-provisional!’” explains Krajec. “Some sophisticated angel investors see provisional patent applications as ‘angel bait.’ Many entrepreneurs know their patents might be worthless, but they do provisionals to satisfy gullible angel investors.”



A low-cost provisional patent application often results in a loss of international filing rights, but always results in a delay in getting an enforceable/licensable asset, and a more expensive patent overall.



“Many entrepreneurs are mistaken that just because they filed a ‘thin’ provisional application that they are ‘protected.’ But the actual protection only starts when the complete, non-provisional patent application is filed.”



To learn more, please visit the BlueIron Blog "Should I File a Provisional Patent Application" or 
the PatentMyths podcast episode entitled “The Myth of Provisional Patent Applications”.







Provisional Patent Applications are ALWAYS the Wrong Thing - Here's Why