Provisional patent applications, at a fixed fee.
Prepared by a registered patent attorney and former USPTO examiner, with same-day service when a deadline requires it, a written record of what the filing covers, and a plan for the 12-month decision.
A 20-minute initial consultation at no charge. Please do not share confidential invention details.
Introductory fixed fee
$1,000
Fixed for the scope on this page and confirmed in writing before any work begins.
USPTO filing fees are not included.
They are added to the advance payment at the amount the USPTO charges for your entity status (micro, small, or undiscounted). Both are paid in advance, before work begins.
A credit toward your nonprovisional
When you engage PatentDrafters to prepare the nonprovisional application that claims this provisional's benefit within 10 months of its filing date, a credit is applied to the nonprovisional professional fee. The amount is set out in your engagement letter.
The fee applies to the scope described here. Anything beyond it is quoted in writing before work begins. The content of the application depends on the information you provide and what is discussed in the disclosure call.
Included
- A disclosure call
- The provisional patent application, with informal figures and claims
- Client review of the draft
- Filing with the USPTO
- A provisional information sheet summarizing what the filing describes and the dates ahead
- A plan for the 12-month nonprovisional decision
Not included
- USPTO filing fees, which depend on entity status and are added to the advance payment
- Formal drawings, prior art searches, and foreign filings
- Multiple inventions or unusually large disclosures, quoted separately before work begins
A Provisional Is Only as Good as What It Describes
It holds a date for what it describes
A provisional application gets a filing date, but it is not examined like a nonprovisional application. The date applies to what it actually describes, and you then have up to 12 months to file a nonprovisional application (and/or an application in another jurisdiction) that claims that benefit.
Later claims need its support
A nonprovisional claim can rely on the provisional's date only if the provisional adequately describes it. Material added later receives the later filing date, so the description should be as thorough as the available information allows.
Filing before a demo or launch
If a demo, launch, publication, or pitch is coming, filing first can help protect what the application describes. Tell us the date at the consultation.
Read: file before you demo →A record of what you filed
Each provisional comes with a short information sheet: what the filing describes, topics to consider for later filings, and what has to happen before the 12-month date.
From First Call to Filed Provisional
Initial consultation and conflicts check
A 20-minute call about your goals and timing. Share party names only; no invention details yet.
Engagement letter and payment
The fixed fee, what is included, the schedule, and your USPTO entity status are confirmed in writing. The fee and the estimated USPTO filing fee are paid in advance, before technical work begins.
Disclosure call
You send a written disclosure, and we discuss how the invention works, its alternatives, and what is coming next. The application is built from what you provide and what we discuss.
Draft, review, and file
A first draft within 5 business days after the disclosure call, or the same day when a deadline requires it. After your review of the draft, the application is filed with the USPTO.
Is the Fixed Fee Right for Your Invention?
A good fit
One invention, in software, AI, electronics, consumer products, mechanical and medical devices, and many other technology areas, with a written description of how it works, such as a technical write-up, diagrams or sketches, or the founder worksheet.
Open the founder worksheet →Quoted separately
Several distinct inventions, very large disclosures, or formal drawings. The quote is given in writing before work begins, so there are no surprises.
Same-day service
If a demo, launch, or other deadline is close, same-day turnaround is available when needed. Say so at the consultation so the engagement letter and disclosure call can happen quickly.
Engineer. Examiner. Patent Attorney.
PatentDrafters is led by Brent Lindon, a registered patent attorney and former USPTO patent examiner, with about 10 years of electronics and software engineering, including with the U.S. Navy, before law.
Your inventors work directly with a registered patent attorney and former USPTO examiner, from the first interview through drafting, filing, and USPTO prosecution, as agreed in your engagement.
Read the full background →- Patent practice
- 15+ years
- Patent practice
- Applications drafted
- 500+
- Applications drafted
- Engineering
- 10 years
- Engineering
- Former examiner
- USPTO
- Former examiner
Provisional Application Questions
What does the $1,000 fee cover?
The professional fee for the scope listed on this page: a disclosure call, the provisional patent application with informal figures and claims, client review of the draft, filing, the provisional information sheet, and a plan for the 12-month decision. It does not include USPTO filing fees, which are added to the advance payment.
How does the nonprovisional credit work?
If you engage PatentDrafters to prepare the nonprovisional application that claims the benefit of the provisional within 10 months of the provisional's filing date, a credit is applied to the nonprovisional professional fee. The amount is set out in your engagement letter. The credit applies once per provisional, has no cash value, and is not transferable.
When is the fee paid?
In advance, after the engagement letter is signed and before technical work begins. The advance payment includes the $1,000 professional fee and the estimated USPTO filing fee for your entity status. How the payment is held and when the fee is earned are set out in the engagement letter.
What is entity status?
USPTO fees depend on whether the applicant qualifies as a micro entity, a small entity, or neither (undiscounted). Each discount has eligibility requirements, such as limits on company size, income, and prior filings. Your status is discussed and confirmed in the engagement letter, and the USPTO fee in the advance payment matches it.
What if we never file the nonprovisional?
The provisional expires 12 months after filing. Its date can be claimed only by a nonprovisional application or an application in another jurisdiction, such as an international application, filed within that period, subject to limited exceptions. No credit applies if no nonprovisional is prepared with us.
Does the provisional include claims?
Yes. Claims are not required in a provisional application, but every provisional prepared under the fixed fee includes them.
How fast can it be filed?
A first draft is delivered within 5 business days after the engagement letter is signed and the disclosure call is held. When a deadline requires it, same-day service is available. Filing follows your review.
How thorough will the application be?
The disclosure in the application depends on the information you provide and what is discussed in the disclosure call. Sending a written description, diagrams, and any alternatives you have considered before the call gives the application more to describe.
Who prepares the application?
A registered patent attorney and former USPTO patent examiner with an engineering background prepares and files it. Formal drawings, when needed, are prepared by professional patent illustrators.
Let's Discuss YourNext Patent Application.
Start with a no-charge initial consultation to discuss your goals, timing, and whether the practice is a fit. Technical details come later, after conflicts are cleared and an engagement is in place.
No charge for the initial consultation. Please share only party names until conflicts are cleared.
Prefer to start by email?
Please provide contact details and party names only. Do not send confidential, technical, or time-sensitive information.