Intro
A good patent lawyer will be able to help you determine whether your invention can be protected by registration with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO). As part of the process, you’ll learn the type of patent you’ll want to get to for your intellectual property.
What Is A U.S. Patent?
If the USPTO ultimately determines your invention a “new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof,” then the federal government will grant you the exclusive right to make, use or sell your intellectual property for 14 to 20 years, depending upon the type of patent. If others want to legally use your invention during that time, they have to pay you for the privilege (license) of doing so.
Related Article: Beware of Invention Promotion Companies
What About A U.S. Provisional Patent?
Like a unicorn, that really doesn’t exist. However, there are some circumstances justifying the need to file a provisional patent application (PPA) for your invention with the USPTO first, especially as the U.S. has now adopted a “First to File” (and no longer a “First to Invent”) patent system, in order to establish priority.
Note that if one files a PPA, it must be “converted” to a regular, non-provisional application within 12 months of filing the PPA, else the PPA is automatically deemed abandoned, i.e. you’ll lose the benefits of filing the provisional app and be statutorily barred from filing the non-provisional application thereafter.