How does a provisional patent application differ from a nonprovisional application?

While the MPEP 201.02 doesn’t provide detailed definitions, it references 37 CFR 1.9(a) for the definitions of provisional and nonprovisional applications:

• Provisional Application: A temporary application that establishes an early filing date but does not mature into an issued patent without further action.
• Nonprovisional Application: A regular patent application that can be examined and potentially result in an issued patent.

Key differences include:

• Provisional applications have a pendency of 12 months from the filing date.
• Nonprovisional applications undergo examination, while provisional applications do not.
• A nonprovisional application must be filed within 12 months of the provisional to claim its filing date benefit.

For more information on nonprovisional application, visit: nonprovisional application.

For more information on patent examination, visit: patent examination.

For more information on patent filing, visit: patent filing.

For more information on provisional application, visit: provisional application.