What is the process for correcting inventorship in a provisional patent application?

The process for correcting inventorship in a provisional patent application is outlined in 37 CFR 1.48(d). To correct inventorship in a provisional application, the following must be submitted:

1. A request to correct the inventorship that identifies each inventor by their legal name. This request must be signed by a party set forth in 37 CFR 1.33(b).
2. The processing fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(q).

Additionally, when adding an inventor, applicants should file a corrected application data sheet or a new cover sheet providing the residence of all inventors, as per 37 CFR 1.51(c).

It’s important to note that correcting inventorship in a provisional application may not always be necessary unless there would be no overlap of inventors upon filing a nonprovisional application with the correct inventorship. The need for correction may also depend on whether a foreign filing under the Paris Convention will occur after the U.S. filing.

To learn more:

• Provisional application
• Inventorship correction
• Patent application
• Processing fee