35 U.S.C. 111 (pre-PLT (AIA)) — Application
Ninth Edition, Revision 01.2024
[Editor Note: Applicable to any patent application filed on or after September 16, 2012, and before December 18, 2013. See 35 U.S.C. 111 or 35 U.S.C. 111 (pre‑AIA) for the law otherwise applicable.]
- (a) IN GENERAL.—
- (1) WRITTEN APPLICATION.—An application for patent shall be made, or authorized to be made, by the inventor, except as otherwise provided in this title, in writing to the Director.
- (2) CONTENTS.—Such application shall include—
- (A) a specification as prescribed by section 112 ;
- (B) a drawing as prescribed by section 113; and
- (C) an oath or declaration as prescribed by section 115 .
- (3) FEE AND OATH OR DECLARATION.—The application must be accompanied by the fee required by law. The fee and oath or declaration may be submitted after the specification and any required drawing are submitted, within such period and under such conditions, including the payment of a surcharge, as may be prescribed by the Director.
- (4) FAILURE TO SUBMIT.—Upon failure to submit the fee and oath or declaration within such prescribed period, the application shall be regarded as abandoned, unless it is shown to the satisfaction of the Director that the delay in submitting the fee and oath or declaration was unavoidable or unintentional. The filing date of an application shall be the date on which the specification and any required drawing are received in the Patent and Trademark Office.
- (b) PROVISIONAL APPLICATION.—
- (1) AUTHORIZATION.—A provisional application for
patent shall be made or authorized to be made by the inventor, except
as otherwise provided in this title, in writing to the Director. Such
application shall include—
- (A) a specification as prescribed by section 112(a) ; and
- (B) a drawing as prescribed by section 113 .
- (2) CLAIM.—A claim, as required by subsections (b) through (e) of section 112 , shall not be required in a provisional application.
- (3) FEE.—
- (A) The application must be accompanied by the fee required by law.
- (B) The fee may be submitted after the specification and any required drawing are submitted, within such period and under such conditions, including the payment of a surcharge, as may be prescribed by the Director.
- (C) Upon failure to submit the fee within such prescribed period, the application shall be regarded as abandoned, unless it is shown to the satisfaction of the Director that the delay in submitting the fee was unavoidable or unintentional.
- (4) FILING DATE.—The filing date of a provisional application shall be the date on which the specification and any required drawing are received in the Patent and Trademark Office.
- (5) ABANDONMENT.—Notwithstanding the absence of a claim, upon timely request and as prescribed by the Director, a provisional application may be treated as an application filed under subsection (a). Subject to section 119(e)(3) , if no such request is made, the provisional application shall be regarded as abandoned 12 months after the filing date of such application and shall not be subject to revival after such 12-month period.
- (6) OTHER BASIS FOR PROVISIONAL APPLICATION.—Subject to all the conditions in this subsection and section 119(e) , and as prescribed by the Director, an application for patent filed under subsection (a) may be treated as a provisional application for patent.
- (7) NO RIGHT OF PRIORITY OR BENEFIT OF EARLIEST FILING DATE.—A provisional application shall not be entitled to the right of priority of any other application under section 119 or 365(a) or to the benefit of an earlier filing date in the United States under section 120 , 121 , or 365(c) .
- (8) APPLICABLE PROVISIONS.—The provisions of this title relating to applications for patent shall apply to provisional applications for patent, except as otherwise provided, and except that provisional applications for patent shall not be subject to sections 131 and 135 .
- (1) AUTHORIZATION.—A provisional application for
patent shall be made or authorized to be made by the inventor, except
as otherwise provided in this title, in writing to the Director. Such
application shall include—
(Amended Aug. 27, 1982, Public Law 97-247, sec. 5, 96 Stat. 319; Dec. 8, 1994, Public Law 103-465, sec. 532(b)(3), 108 Stat. 4986; Nov. 29, 1999, Public Law 106-113, sec. 1000(a)(9), 113 Stat. 1501A-582, 588 (S. 1948 secs. 4732(a)(10)(A), 4801(a); Sept. 16, 2011, Public Law 112-29, secs. 4 and 20(j) (effective Sept. 16, 2012) and sec. 3(e) (effective March 16, 2013), 125 Stat. 284.)
Cited authority
- 35 U.S.C. 111 Application
- 35 U.S.C. 111 (pre-AIA) Application
- 35 U.S.C. 112 Specification
- 35 U.S.C. 113 Drawings
- 35 U.S.C. 115 Inventor’s oath or declaration
- 35 U.S.C. 119 Benefit of earlier filing date; right of priority
- 35 U.S.C. 365 Right of priority; benefit of the filing date of a prior application
- 35 U.S.C. 120 Benefit of earlier filing date in the United States
- 35 U.S.C. 121 Divisional applications
- 35 U.S.C. 131 Examination of application
- 35 U.S.C. 135 Derivation proceedings
Cited by
- 1122 Requests for Nonpublication
- 1504.02 Novelty
- 1893.01(a)(1) Submissions Required by 30 Months from the Priority Date
- 1893.01(b) Applicant for a U.S. National Stage Application
- 1893.03(a) How To Identify That an Application Is a U.S. National Stage Application
- 1895.01 Handling of and Considerations in the Handling of Continuations, Divisions, and Continuations-In-Part of PCT Applications
- 1896 The Differences Between a National Application Filed Under 35 U.S.C. 111(a) and a National Stage Application Submitted Under 35 U.S.C. 371
- 201.01 National Applications
- 201.04 Provisional Application
- 201.06(c) 37 CFR 1.53(b) and 37 CFR 1.63(d) Divisional-Continuation Procedure
- 211 Claiming the Benefit of an Earlier Filing Date Under 35 U.S.C. 120 and 119(e)
- 211.03 Time Period for Making a Claim for Benefit Under 37 CFR 1.78
- 2139.03 Form Paragraphs for Use in Rejections Under Pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102
- 2148 Form Paragraphs for Use in Rejections Under Pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103
- 2157 Improper Naming of Inventors
- 2730 Applications Filed on or After May 29, 2000; Grounds for Adjustment
- 308 Issue to Applicant
- 324 Establishing Right of Assignee To Take Action in Application Filed Before September 16, 2012
- 325 Establishing Right of Assignee To Take Action in Application Filed On or After September 16, 2012
- 409.03 Unavailability of Inventor – Application Filed Before September 16, 2012
- 409.05 Application For Patent by an Assignee, Obligated Assignee, or a Person Who Otherwise Shows Sufficient Proprietary Interest – Application Filed On or After September 16, 2012
- 502.02 Correspondence Signature Requirements
- 509.04 Micro Entity Status — Definitions
- 601 Content of Provisional and Nonprovisional Applications
- 601.01(a) Nonprovisional Applications Filed Under 35 U.S.C. 111(a)
- 601.01(d) Application Filed Without All Pages of Specification
- 601.01(g) Applications Filed Without All Figures of Drawings
- 601.05 Bibliographic Information - Application Data Sheet (ADS)
- 601.05(a) Application Data Sheet (ADS) -- Application Filed On or After September 16, 2012
- 602.01 Naming the Inventor; Inventor's Oath or Declaration
- 602.01(a) Inventor’s Oath or Declaration in Application Filed On or After September 16, 2012
- 608.02 Drawing
- 702 Requisites of the Application
- 708.02(b) Prioritized Examination
- 804.03 Commonly Owned Inventions of Different Inventive Entities; Non-Commonly Owned Inventions Subject to a Joint Research Agreement
- 35 U.S.C. 111 Application
- 35 U.S.C. 111 (pre-AIA) Application
- 37 CFR 1.41 Inventorship
- 37 CFR 1.53 (pre-PLT (AIA)) Application number, filing date, and completion of application
- 37 CFR 1.57 (pre-PLT) Incorporation by reference
- 37 CFR 1.76 Application data sheet