2. Write
Your
Own
Provisional
Applica0on?
Con:
“Patent
Laws
are
Pro:
“What
the
hell
–
its
confusing
and
beNer
than
nothing.”
complicated,
you
will
screw
it
up
and
get
a
false
sense
of
security
from
filing
it.”
SOLUTION
–
Learn
as
much
as
you
can
stomach
4. What
is
It?
It
is
not
a
kind
of
a
patent
!
It
is
a
kind
of
applica0on
Only
granted
patents
give
the
right
to
exclude
others
5. Why?
Less
formal
requirements
than
a
regular
applica0on.
Reasonable
chance
that
what
you
write
will
not
be
held
against
you.
Danger
-‐
you
don’t
actually
cover
the
important
part
–
but
think
you
did
7. When
is
it
Looked
at?
Possibly
During
Prosecu0on
of
NPA
Definitely
During
Li0ga0on
1/2015
1/2012
1/2013
Search
and
PPA
NPA
Examina0on
1
-‐
A
2
-‐
C
3
-‐
B
NPA
covers
A,
B
and
C.
Search
turns
up:
1. 1/1999
Feature
A
2. 1/2014
Feature
B
3. 6/2012
Feature
C
9. What
do
You
Need
in
a
PPA?
1. Iden0fy
the
cool
part
2. Draw
pictures
–
include
the
cool
part
3. Describe
the
cool
part
and
how
it
works
and
how
all
the
parts
relate
to
each
other.
4. Send
it
in
properly
10. What
do
You
Need
for
a
PPA
to
be
useful
?
By
law:
1. A
wriNen
descrip0on,
with
drawings
as
needed.
2. The
document
as
a
whole
teaching
someone
in
the
field
how
to
make
and
use
the
WARN-‐inven0on-‐WARN.
3. The
best
way
you
think
(now)
it
is
to
make
or
use
it.
11. Tonight’s
actual
Topic
How
to
write
it
a. Understand
it
yourself
b. Come
up
a
few
candidates
for
the
“cool
part”
c. Write
and
draw
a
descrip0on
of
one
specific
version
d. Explain
possible
varia0ons
of
that
version
e. Write
and
draw
a
descrip0on
of
a
2nd
specific
version
f. Explain
possible
varia0ons
of
the
2nd
version
g. And
so
on
12. What
is
the
cool
part?
Not
the
overall
benefit,
the
structures
that
allow
it
to
have
that
benefit.
“Only
version
that
is
hands
free”
–
no
“Achieve
hands
free
opera0on
by
using
a
suc0on
cup”
-‐
yes
Need
to
have
knowledge
as
to
what
has
been
done
already
18. Broad
or
Specific?
Both
Broad
in
thinking
about
mul0ple
specific
versions
19. The
thing
signg
in
front
of
you
-‐
-‐
is
not
your
inven0on,
it
is
an
embodiment
of
a
set
of
concepts
that
are
broader
than
any
specific
embodiment.
Figure
out
what
they
are
and
generate
addi0onal
embodiments,
including
lame
ones
if
needed.
20. Drafing
Sugges0ons
Explain
it
to
someone
else
only
using
the
drawings
you
made
as
visual
aids.
Helps
iden0fy
need
for
more
or
different
drawings.
For
each
version
first
describe
the
en0re
structure
and
then
explain
the
opera0on
aferwards.
21. Drafing
Sugges0ons
Give
every
component
a
par0cular
name
and
s0ck
to
that
name
in
the
descrip0on.
Each
component
should
really
also
have
a
reference
number.
Make
a
parts
list.
23. Please
do
not
use
“patentese”.
Prior
Art
means
“something
OK
to
use
against
me”
Calling
something
“Prior
Art”
can
make
it
“admiNed
prior
art”
when
it
otherwise
would
not
be.
Stay
very
far
away
from
“means”.
I
know
what
means
means
but
you
probably
don’t.
Also
many
US
District
Court
Judges
do
not
appear
to
either.
Member,
structure,
element,
mechanism
all
mean
approximately
“thingy”
24. Avoid
Patent
Profanity
It
may
not
bite
you
in
a
provisional
but
professionals
are
busy
making
lists
of
words
like:
cri0cal,
important,
WARN-‐inven0on-‐WARN,
always,
must,
only
and
requires
and
segng
up
their
edi0ng
programs
to
flag
them.
25. SubmiNal
Must
use
a
Provisional
Cover
sheet.
Make
sure
your
address
is
correct.
If
by
mail
–
Use
USPS
Express
Mail.
If
possible
follow
the
USPTO
procedures
Can
be
uploaded.
Google
USPTO
EFS-‐Web.
