PPA help

[123Bowen]

What is the name of your state?Canada

I need a USA PPA patent, so i can achieve a patent pending status for my product. However, i dont know how i can get a PPA under age. My parents are fully considerate and I wonder what kind of application does my parents and i, have to fill


thank you for your time

 

[divgradcurl]

Do you want just a U.S. patent, or a Canadian patent as well?

If you want both, you should contact the Canadian Patent Office to figure out how to file a Canadian application, followed by a PCT application designating the U.S.

If you want t6o simply file a U.S. patent, you can find the information you need to file a provisional here: http://www.uspto.gov/web/patents/howtopat.htm

And just FYI, "patent pending" gives you no rights to enforce you pending patent, it's just a designation without any real legal significance.

 

[marubear]

From what I understand, "PPA" stands for a provisional patent application. A provisional patent application does not entitle you to patent protection. However, it does act as a "placeholder" for claiming priority to a later filed, nonprovisional patent application (wherein you can ultimately get patent rights).

I would advise you that you seek the services of a registered patent agent or a patent attorney so that a provisional patent application can be drafted for you. At my firm, we try to draft a provisional patent application almost to the same extent as a nonprovisional patent application, except that we provide just one broad patent claim (as opposed to one broad independent claim and multiple dependent claims branching off of it).


The reason why I recommend the foregoing is because if your provisional patent application does not have a sufficient basis for the nonprovisional patent application, you may not be awarded with the priority date (i.e., filing date) of the earlier filed provisional patent application. As a result, while there are little formal requirements in filing a provisional patent application, in order to best preserve your priority rights, that is why I recommend that you go with a patent agent or a patent attorney.


Additionally, you can file a PCT application within one year of filing that provisional patent application and designate Canada or any other PCT member country in order to file an international patent application there. With a PCT application, you can designate the countries in which you wish to file.


Any further questions, please feel free to e-mail me off the list.