Question
Hi! I've talked to another tech entrepreneur who said he got a provisional patent for his intention for little money while still in the bootstrapping phase. He said without that he couldn't have received the funding he attracted in the seed round. I'm inclined to believe him, but then what exactly is a provisional patent? If it's so cheap, why would I file for a "regular"patent instead? Obviously there is a difference, but maybe someone with more expertise can explain this to me, thanks!
Answers: 3 public & 0 private
I suspect the tech entrepreneur who you spoke with managed to attract funding because he had effectively used his provisional patent application as a "marketing" tool. As Steve mentioned, a provisional patent application provides you 12 months to make further developments to your invention. To investors, this may be an attractive proposition because not only does the filed provisional patent application secure a priority date for your invention, it also provides you the flexibility to incorporate further modifications and improvements to your invention into the "regular" patent application that has to be filed within the 12 month period.
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