Provisional Patent Form

There are very few instructions on how to proceed with this form and the cases to proceed with it. Has anyone gone through this process without using a patent attorneya

Try the Nolo Press book on "Patent It Yourself." If your idea is worth patenting, it is worth paying for at least a consulation with a patent attorney. My neighbor recently had a lawyer to file a provisional application and it only costs $ 300.

Two fatal mistakes often made by applicants without lawyers: too much information before the filing (instantly kills patent rights in most countries) and the failure to make adequate disclosure in the filing in support of claims and meet other legal standards of completeness (best known by the inventor, etc..) Another big mistake: not having the name of each inventor involved in all claims of the invention.

Very difficult to "fix" those after the application is filed, unless you abandon it and another file, which means you have lost several years of priority of your invention on the things that were deposited in the time, before discovering your mistake.

File the cover sheet, communication (and drawings), costs, return postcard, using the courier service. Have someone check your work and sign your book to show what you sent and when you sent and the number of express delivery is standard. You will need it if the USPTO loses your file.