Since their introduction several years ago, provisional patent applications, which lack some of the formal requirements of conventional patent applications, have become a popular mechanism for securing a U.S. filing date. Provisionals are particularly useful for securing a filing date while further details and embodiments of the invention are developed.
Many patent attorneys and agents, however, have begun taking shortcuts. Some simply attach a cover sheet to an invention disclosure and file it with the PTO. To save filing fees, others combine several unrelated disclosures into one provisional application. It is also common to exclude claims, which are not required, despite their many advantages. These and other shortcuts, however, entail pitfalls.
