PPA
A provisional patent application (PPA) is an application for a patent in the United States that is filed under 35 U.S.C. § 111(b) and can establish an early effective filing date for an invention later claimed in a nonprovisional application. It is not examined for patentability and does not itself confer a patent or an enforceable right to exclude others. A PPA allows the applicant to describe the invention as “patent pending.” The earlier filing date can be relevant in determining which disclosures are considered prior art.
A PPA does not require formal patent claims or an inventor’s oath or declaration. It must include a written description satisfying 35 U.S.C. § 112(a), including sufficient detail to enable a person skilled in the relevant field to make and use the invention, and any drawings necessary to understand it. A complete application also requires the applicable fees and a cover sheet identifying the application as provisional and naming the inventors, along with other required information. PPAs are not available for design inventions.
Under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e), the applicant must usually file a corresponding nonprovisional application, or an international application designating the United States, within 12 months and properly claim the PPA’s benefit. At least one inventor must be named in both applications. The earlier date applies only to claimed subject matter adequately disclosed in the PPA; new material added in the later application does not automatically receive the patent.
A PPA ordinarily becomes abandoned after 12 months if not filed. If the corresponding application is filed within two months after the 12-month deadline, 37 C.F.R. § 1.78(b) permits a petition to restore the benefit when the delay was unintentional and the required fee and other conditions are satisfied. Restoration is not automatic and does not revive the PPA itself.
For a utility patent, the patent term generally begins at issuance and ends 20 years after the relevant nonprovisional filing date, subject to statutory adjustments and other limitations. Claiming a PPA’s benefit does not typically move that expiration date back to the provisional filing date. However, directly converting the PPA into a nonprovisional application, rather than filing a separate application claiming its benefit, retains the original filing date for calculating the patent term. PPAs are generally confidential and are excluded from routine application publication by 35 U.S.C. § 122(b)(2)(A)(iii). Under 37 C.F.R. § 1.14, the contents of a PPA may nevertheless become accessible when a later published application or issued patent claims the same benefit.
[Last reviewed in October of 2026 by the Wex Definitions Team]
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