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Reference.org
Provisional application
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<p>A provisional application is a <a href="/facts/Patent_application/ACHxPn3A">patent application</a> filed at the <a href="/facts/Intellectual_property/PqHW9mVP">intellectual property</a> offices of some countries. It does not mature into an issued patent and is deemed abandoned one year after its filing. It is used to secure a <a href="/facts/Filing_date/FuhGt7Ja">filing date</a> for a subsequent non-provisional patent application claiming <a href="/facts/Priority_right/EnDCGGkg">priority</a> of the provisional application. There is no such thing as a "provisional <a href="/facts/Patent/LjT2bG3A">patent</a>". The same term is used in past and current patent laws of different countries with different meanings. </p>