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United States

The US allows two kinds of utility patents, provisional and non-provisional patents. A provisional application is a speedy and more economic way for inventors to establish a U.S. filing date for their invention, which can be later claimed in a subsequent-filed non-provisional application. A provisional application does not undergo any substantive examination and will be automatically expired in 12 months after its filing date. An applicant who decides to initially file a provisional application should file a corresponding non-provisional application within the 12-month pending period of the provisional application in order to claim the benefit of the earlier filed provisional application. A non-provisional application is a more time-consuming and expensive way for inventors to seek longer term protection of their inventions. This kind of patent application is examined by a patent examiner and may be granted patent right if all the requirements for patentability are fulfilled. The term of a non-provisional utility patent is 20 years from the issue date.