What is a provisional patent?

A provisional application for patent is a type of patent application filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office that does not mature into an issued patent unless a non-provisional patent application (usually a utility patent application) is filed by the applicant within one year. Provisional applications require only a specification (complete written description) of the invention for filing, and can thus provide a relatively quick and inexpensive means of establishing an early filing date with the USPTO. Provisional patent applications lapse one year after the filing date and the benefit of the early filing date is lost if the application is not converted into a non-provisional (e.g. – utility) application.