Provisional patent application for puzzle game

Hi,

In addition, when/ if you publicly disclose your idea to a third party, it may start the 1 year bar time period for the US. For most of the rest of the world it will be too late. The US gives a 1 year grace period between public disclosure and filing. The rest of the world is absolute novelty, meaning, they do not give a grace period. So you need to file the provisional before you publicly disclose if you want protection outside the US: best practice general rule (public disclosure is complicated). And you need to keep track of the public disclosure date for the US, because you have to file a utility within the 1 yr period.

Thanks,
Mary

Yes it does. But understand what a provisional patent application is and is not. It is not a patent application that will ever be examined or lead to a patent. A provisional patent application (PPA) is a patent application which will form the basis for a later filed non-provisional application (NPA) or a PCT application if you plan to seek foreign patents. The PPA should be every bit as complete, accurate, and thorough as the later-filed NPA or PCT application because it will serve as a priority - datewise - for the later filed NPA or PCT application and therefore its disclosure, and preferably claims, must provide support for the later-filed NPA or PCT application. If it does not meet these tests, it will not in fact serve as a priority for the NPA or PCT and your priority date will then be the filing date of the NPA or PCT application. The priority date of the PPA is therefore critically important because the US is now on a first-to-file patent system, so the sooner you file your PPA to eventually protect your game, the better. If you file your PPA, and then later file your NPA or PCT application, but the PPA is insufficient to serve as priority, someone else may file a PPA or NPA or PCT application during the time between your PPA and NPA or PCT applications so if you do not receive the priority date of your PPA, this other party will have senior rights to the game. You will then not be able to get your patent and you may infringe his patent if his patent application is eventually allowed as a patent. Note that you must file your NPA or PCT application within one year of the filing date of your PPA. Another reason for filing a PPA as opposed to an NPA is that your game might still be in development, and you may develop further/additional versions or embodiments of the game. In this case, you can file an additional PPA for each new version or embodiment and then file your NPA or PCT for all of the versions or embodiments included within a single NPA or PCT application which must be filed within one year from the filing date of the earliest filed PPA. A good rule to follow is that with each new version or embodiment, use the first/basic PPA as your new PPA and then just add the new version/embodiment to it - that way nothing is inadvertently omitted.