Priority Benefit
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Types, Cross-Noting and Status of Application |
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This section lays out details of provisional applications filed on or after September 16, 2012 along with general information. For instance, claims and the oath or declaration are not required in provisional applications. This section also details how to convert nonprovisional to provisional applications and provisional to nonprovisional applications.
Converting a provisional to a nonprovisional is not recommended because the term of any patent issuing from the application will be measured from at least the filing date of the prior application. As an alternative, it is recommended to claim the benefit of the provisional application.
This section covers the procedure for claiming the benefit of an earlier domestic application and claiming priority to an earlier foreign application. In addition, the requirement for a statement under 37 C.F.R. 1.55 or 1.78 for first inventor to file transition applications is also discussed.
Under certain conditions and on fulfilling certain requirements, an application for patent filed in the United States may be entitled to the benefit of the filing date of a prior application filed in a foreign country. The conditions are specified in 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) and (f), and 37 CFR 1.55.
