PATENTS

Lodging a Patent Application

An applicant for a standard patent usually begins the patenting process by lodging a provisional application, followed within 12 months by a complete application. The provisional application is optional, but provides a relatively inexpensive procedure for initiating protection while assessing the commercial potential of an invention. In essence, it enables an applicant to disclose an invention and to gauge reaction in the marketplace without destroying the novelty of the invention. A provisional application lapses after twelve months, and to have continuing effect it must be associated with a complete application lodged before the end of this twelve month period. Thus, if at the end of the twelve month term an invention shows potential, the applicant can lodge a complete application covering the invention which effectively enjoys the priority date or filing date of the provisional application.

A complete application must be accompanied by a specification setting out the broad principles of the invention, and also must describe in some detail the best method of performing the invention known to the applicant at the time of filing the complete application. The complete specification also includes a set of claims defining the monopoly sought by the applicant.