有朋友问及美国临时申请的事，请允许我在此谈几点我认为比较重要的问题。

临时申请临时在哪里呢？就是一年后自动放弃 ( 套用现在年轻人的表达，叫被放弃 ) 。 A provisional application automatically becomes abandoned when its pendency expires 12 months after the provisional application filing date by operation of law. 这一年内你必须干两件事之一，才能让临时申请物尽其用，修成正果。 A provisional application cannot result in a U. S. patent unless one of the following two events occur within 12 months of the provisional application filing date: 要么 a corresponding non-provisional application for patent entitled to a filing date is filed that claims the benefit of the earlier filed provisional application; 要么 a grantable petition under 37 CFR 1.53(c)(3) to convert the provisional application into a non-provisional application is filed. 正因为这个临时性，你要小心别被人欺骗上当。 Some invention promotion firms misuse the provisional application process leaving the inventor with no patent.

临时申请的撰写非常自由，前面谈的什么八股文形式统统不讲究。 It allows filing without a formal patent claim, oath or declaration, or any information disclosure (prior art) statement. 临时申请唯独要注意的就是干部能下的问题。你需要把你的发明尽可能详细描述，以便支持你将来干部能上的要求。 Although a claim is not required in a provisional application, the written description and any drawing(s) of the provisional application must adequately support the subject matter claimed in the later-filed non-provisional application in order for the later-filed non-provisional application to benefit from the provisional application filing date. 你要 ensure that the disclosure filed as the provisional application adequately provides a written description of the full scope of the subject matter regarded as the invention and desired to be claimed in the later filed non-provisional application.

我个人认为临时申请的最大好处有两个。一个众所周知， It provides the means to establish an early effective filing date in a later-filed non-provisional patent application filed under 35 U.S.C. § 111(a). 另外一个就是它可以让你立即投入发明的推广销售活动，而不用担心被人偷走技术。这对华人朋友们艰苦创业这段时间应该很重要。 Enables immediate commercial promotion of the invention with greater security against having the invention stolen;

对于临时申请的其它问题，大家可以下载阅读美国专利局的一个小册子。这个文件不长，就几页，也很简明，你一看就懂。网址是 http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/ProvApp.pdf

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