Nonprovisional applications are referred to as regular patent applications. They may be filed for utility, plant or design related inventions. These applications include a specification, claims, drawings (where necessary), an oath/declaration and a filing fee. Once a completed nonprovisional application is received, the PTO assigns a filing date to it and eventually gets around to reviewing it.
Nonprovisional applications are a little more robust than provisional applications. In addition to a specification and any necessary drawings, they must also include claims. The claims describe exactly what is being patented and should leave no room for the imagination. They must be clear and concise.
A nonprovisional application will be considered incomplete unless it has at least one claim. Nonprovisional applications must also include a cover sheet that identifies it as a nonprovisional application and includes the particulars about the inventors, etc. Once the specification, the claims, the cover sheet and any necessary drawings have been submitted, a filing date will be granted.
But, don’t forget, nonprovisional applications must also include an oath or declaration and a fee. However, if you want to procrastinate, you may send in both the oath/declaration and the fee later along with a surcharge.
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