How do I get a patent?

How does a provisional patent that's filed before March 2013 get affected by someone else filing a non-provisional patent using first to file clause on the same idea?

  • A person/team files a provisional patent before march 2013 in hope of testing their beta product and refining the final non-provisional patent in an year's time. But come March 2013, someone else files a non-provisional using the same idea leveraging "first to file" clause. In that case does the first person/team lose their IP?

  • Answer:

    A provisional application is considered a filing, even though that application will never be examined.  That is, a non-provisional does not have more "weight" than the provisional in terms of priority.  The date of filing a provisional will be considered the earliest priority date.  And since you will file before March 2013, you can still use the "first to invent" benefit if needed.

Konstantinos Konstantinides at Quora Visit the source

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