Frequently asked questions

The whole purpose of a provisional is to take your idea, the one that’s unique to you, and secure a filing date, so you can then work toward getting a patent. It’s your invention, written up and drawn, filed with the USPTO to set that early filing date. You then have 12 months to file your full (non-provisional) patent application. If you do, the full application counts as filed on your provisional date, for everything the provisional described. That date is what counts if someone else files for the same idea. From the day you file, you can say “patent pending.” When you file the full application, the USPTO can look back at your provisional to confirm it supports your earlier date, so the details you put in matter.

It protects your date. If someone else files for the same idea after your date, yours comes first, as long as you file your full application within 12 months and your provisional describes what you’re claiming. If a full application takes you a year to prepare, you still get credit for the day you filed the provisional. A provisional by itself doesn’t give you the right to stop anyone. That comes with the patent granted from your full application, which you can then enforce, and tell others about.

It puts your date on record now, and it gives you 12 months to take your idea to buyers, makers, and investors before you decide whether to pay for a full application. A full application prepared by a patent attorney can cost many thousands of dollars, so it helps to know your idea is worth it first.

File them with the USPTO to put your date on record. When you decide to go after a full patent, hand the same documents to a patent attorney or registered patent agent to turn into your full application. You have 12 months.

A free USPTO.gov account, a quick identity check, and enrollment in Patent Center, the USPTO’s online filing system. Checking your identity online takes about 30 minutes, but by mail it can take up to 10 business days, so it’s smart to start while you work on your documents. The USPTO’s getting-started page walks you through it.

Once you’ve filed, yes. Please don’t use it before you’ve filed.

Generally, you can’t add new material to a provisional application after it’s filed. If your invention improves, you can file another provisional application, or include the improvements in your full application. The improvements would get the later date. That’s why Thing4That checks your work before you file. For advice about your own situation, talk to a patent attorney.

The USPTO’s filing fee is separate from our $12.99 and depends on your fee level: standard, small, or micro. The USPTO publishes the current amounts on its fee schedule page. You’re responsible for the fee level you claim.

People who live in the U.S. or its territories and file for themselves. The USPTO decides this by where the applicant permanently lives, not by citizenship, so you don’t have to be a U.S. citizen. Applicants who live abroad, and companies, must use a registered patent practitioner, so this isn’t the right tool for them.

Someone the USPTO has authorized to represent people in patent matters. That means a patent attorney (a licensed attorney who is also registered with the USPTO) or a patent agent (registered with the USPTO, but not an attorney). An ordinary attorney without that registration generally doesn’t qualify. The USPTO keeps a public register of practitioners, but it can’t recommend one.

No. Thing4That is self-help software, and it doesn’t make anyone your lawyer. Many inventors prepare provisional applications themselves, and some prefer to have an attorney review theirs. That’s your choice.

Clear drawings make your description easier to follow, and Thing4That is built around them. You can upload photos of hand-drawn sketches or pictures from your phone or computer (JPG, PNG, or WebP). If your drawing program saves in another format, export it as a picture first.

Your work is stored privately under your account, and you’ll be able to delete it. We don’t publish it. Our privacy policy spells out the details.