Provisional patent information with useful links

Information and Links on Obtaining Provisional Patents - written to her freshman design students:

Those of you who have teams asking about patent opportunities might be interested in showing your students the example of a provisional patent, generously contributed by Prof. Walter Herbst.  The links below will connect you to important forms and information available at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (www.uspto.gov).

Note:  Walter recommends that students submitting a provisional patent also send a stamped, self-addressed postcard, stating that all the enclosures (listed) have been received.  It's a simple way for teams who apply for a provisional patent to know when their application was received and will help them get a sense of typical processing times.

The provisional patent application form (Form PTO/SB/16) may be found here:  http://www.uspto.gov/web/forms/index.html#startforms

More information on provisional patents may be found here:  http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/provapp.htm

This info will also be available in new "Patent Information" folders in both the WQ and SQ directories of the repository.

Thanks, Walter!

Kathleen