File a PPA to Delay patent costs to have more money for marketing

Filing a provisional patent application (PPA) offers inventors a strategic way to delay the costs associated with patent prosecution for up to twelve (12) months.  You can market your device during that time and see if you can make money with your idea.  If your product launch is successful, you can file the nonprovisional patent application to get your patent.  This is one reason you may want to file a provisional patent application.

Below, we’ll explore the mechanics of how a PPA delays costs, the benefits of this delay, and why you might—or might not—want to take advantage of it.

How Does Filing a Provisional Patent Application Delay Costs?

With the PPA, you have patent pendency upon filing the application with the USPTO.  However, the core benefit of filing a PPA is that it postpones all of the expenses associated with the examination process, giving inventors up to 12 months to market their product and see if the market receives it well.  Here’s how this delay works:

1. The Mechanics of the Delay

When you file a PPA, only minimal formalities are checked by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), including:

• Does the application have some words?
• Have the forms been filled out correctly?
• Was the required fee paid?

You probably won’t get rejected for any of these reasons.  You will then receive your official filing receipt which confirms your filing date.

Importantly, the PPA is not substantively examined. This means the USPTO does not review your invention for novelty, nonobviousness, or adequacy of the written description—the key factors in determining whether an invention is patentable. Because of this limited review, filing a PPA doesn’t expose you to the higher costs associated with patent rejections or complex legal arguments.

Once filed, the PPA simply remains in place for 12 months and then automatically goes abandoned. In fact, the USPTO doesn’t even notify you that it has gone abandoned after this time period. At the least, as indicated, you’ll receive a filing receipt once your PPA is accepted, and that’s the end of it unless you file an NPA within 12 months.

Most importantly, the PPA is not placed in line for examination. It’s essentially a placeholder that gives you time to make decisions about your next steps without incurring significant costs upfront.  You’ll never have to pay for the examination costs.

2. To Get a Patent, You Must File a Nonprovisional Patent Application (NPA)

To have your invention examined by the USPTO, you’ll need to file an NPA within 12 months and claim priority to your provisional application. Unlike the PPA, the NPA undergoes a much more rigorous review, covering both formalities and substantive requirements:

• Formalities: The NPA must meet specific standards, including providing line drawings, detailed figure descriptions, clear claims, and paying all the required fees.
• Substantive Review: The USPTO will evaluate your invention’s written description, check for novelty and nonobviousness, and ensure that the invention is enabled, meaning that others can reproduce it based on your description.

If the NPA is found to have deficiencies in these areas, the USPTO will issue rejections, which you must respond to in order to avoid abandonment. This is what I call the examination costs and where you spend a lot of money if you don’t do it right.  The complexity of these responses and the precision needed to draft effective patent claims are the reasons why hiring a patent attorney is crucial. The major costs being delayed by the PPA are associated with these examination costs for the NPA.

Why Delay Patent Costs?

As I said before, delaying patent costs is good because it leaves you more money to develop and market your product.  All of the things that you need to do to see if your product can make you money.

Filing a provisional patent application offers a way to defer the often substantial costs of pursuing a patent. Here are some additional reasons why delaying costs might make sense for you:

1. Limited Financial Resources: You may not have the funds available right now to cover the full costs of preparing and filing an NPA, which can include attorney fees, filing fees, and responses to examiner rejections.
2. Leverage Product Profits: Some inventors choose to delay the NPA and use profits from their product to finance the patent process. By getting their product to market sooner, they can gather revenue to help pay for legal fees.
3. No Immediate Patent Need: If there’s no urgent need to secure a patent—such as competitors aren’t yet copying your product or you have no need to secure investment—it makes sense to focus resources elsewhere, like on marketing, product development, and manufacturing.
4. Focus on Other Priorities: Often, delaying patent prosecution allows inventors to invest their limited capital into higher-priority areas such as product development and business growth. The extra 12 months afforded by the PPA can provide breathing room to perfect your invention before committing to the expense of an NPA.

Why You Might Want to Proceed Sooner

While delaying costs by filing a provisional application is a strategic option, there are some situations where filing an NPA sooner rather than later may be necessary. In this situation, you won’t be delaying patent examination costs.  Key reasons include:

1. Investor Requirements: Investors often want to see a granted patent—or at least an NPA on file—before they commit capital to your venture. Without patent protection, it may be harder to raise funds.  If this is your case, then by all means spend the money to get a patent by filing a nonprovisional application.
2. Competitive Threats: If competitors are starting to copy your product or you’re concerned about losing market share, securing patent rights quickly could give you a competitive edge. You can assert it against your competitors.  After all, a granted patent provides the right to exclude others from making, using, or selling your invention.  Get the right and assert it against your competitors.

Conclusion

Filing a provisional patent application offers an effective way to delay costs and buy time before committing to the full patent process. By deferring the examination costs and legal fees associated with a nonprovisional patent application, inventors can test the waters by investing in product development, marketing, and other immediate business needs. However, in cases where investor confidence or competitive threats are a concern, it may make sense to move forward with an NPA sooner and get the patent sooner.

For those weighing the costs of filing a patent, consider the benefits of delaying through a provisional application and consult a patent attorney to ensure you’re making the best decision for your business. If you’re ready to take the next step, don’t hesitate to call me at (949) 688-1663 to discuss your options.

This article is part of a series called Essential Patent Strategies. Here is a list of all of the articles:

1. Start Here: Essential Patent Strategies
2. What is a patent search and How to do it?
3. How to conduct a DIY patent search
4. How much does a patent search cost? (Patent Search Service)
5. How to protect Inventions Involving Third Parties? (Nondisclosure Agreements and other basic agreements)
6. Delaying patent costs to have more money for marketing with a provisional application
7. How much does a patent cost?
8. How to Get a Patent as Fast as Possible
9. What is the average patent cost?
10. How much does a quality patent cost?
11. Patent Cost Framework and cash flow
12. How much does a design patent cost?
13. Is a design patent right for you? (Should you get a design patent or a utility patent for your invention?)
14. How to Create a Strong Patent?
15. How to build a patent portfolio?