Provisional filings and the PCT timeline

Core idea#

The patent system gives you a cheap way to buy time. You file a first application (often a "provisional") to fix a priority date . From that date, a set of international clocks starts running, and you can delay the big spending, on full applications in many countries, for up to about 30 months while you learn whether the technology and the company are worth it.

The two numbers every founder should know:

• 12 months: from your first filing, you have a year to file the full application (and an international PCT application) that claims its priority. Miss it and you lose the priority date.
• 30 to 31 months: from the priority date, a PCT application lets you delay entering individual countries (the "national phase") until 30 months in the US and most countries, 31 in India and Europe.

Used well, this structure lets a pre-seed startup spend a few thousand dollars in year one, raise money on the strength of "patent pending", and make the expensive country-bycountry decisions when it has investors and customer data.

Used badly (a thin provisional, a missed deadline, a public disclosure before filing), it gives a false sense of protection.

Who it's for: founders and researchers planning a first patent filing, or inheriting a provisional from a university.

First-filing options#

Official fees change; check the current schedule before filing. Attorney fees for drafting are usually much larger than official fees.

United States: the provisional application#

• What it is: an application that needs a written description and drawings but no formal claims; it gives a priority date and lapses after 12 months unless a non-provisional or PCT application claims it.
• Official fee: $325 undiscounted, $130 small entity, $65 micro entity (37 CFR 1.16). Small entities get a 60% reduction and micro entities 80% on many patent fees (Beancount, on the 2026 USPTO schedule).
• Watch out: the provisional only supports later claims to what it actually describes. A one-page provisional is cheap and nearly worthless.

India: the provisional specification#

• What it is: Form 1 (application) plus Form 2 (provisional specification), adding Form 28 to claim startup, small-entity or educational-institution fees (Intepat).
• Official fee: Rs 1,600 for individuals, startups, small entities and educational institutions, or Rs 8,000 for others, for up to 30 pages (Intepat). DPIIT-recognised startups get an 80% fee reduction on later filings.
• The 12-month rule is strict: the complete specification must be filed within 12 months or the application is treated as abandoned, with no extension (SS Rana; Intepat).
• Foreign filing licence: Indian residents generally need permission from the Indian Patent Office before filing abroad first, unless they file in India first and wait the prescribed period. Plan for this before any US or PCT filing.

United Kingdom: a priority filing at the UK IPO#

A UK application with a description gets a filing date; claims, the abstract and some fees can follow within 12 months. UK filings are often used as cheap priority filings before a PCT application. The UK, like Europe, applies absolute novelty, so the filing must come before any public disclosure (playbook 2.04).

Which office first?#

File where you'll get the best balance of cost, speed and drafting quality, subject to foreign-filing rules. Many Indian startups file first in India (cheap, satisfies foreign-filing rules), then file a PCT within 12 months. US-based teams usually start with a US provisional.

The PCT timeline, step by step#

The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) lets you file one international application that keeps your options open in over 150 countries, deferring national filings to about 30 or 31 months from the priority date (Startup Grants India). It does not grant a patent itself.

What the 30 months buy you#

By month 30, a startup typically has raised a seed round, run pilots and learned which markets matter. That's when you choose countries, ideally where customers, competitors and manufacturing are. The PCT search report also tells you, cheaply, whether the patent is likely to survive.

Paris Convention route instead#

You can skip the PCT and file directly in a few countries within 12 months of the priority date. That's cheaper if you only need two or three countries and know which ones at month 12, but you lose the extra 18 months of decision time.

Strategy for startups#

Make the provisional count#

A provisional only protects what it describes. A strong one includes:

• the core invention, with several variations (materials, dimensions, process conditions, software architectures);
• data or worked examples, if you have them;
• every application you can foresee;
• figures ;
• draft claims, even though not required, to force clarity about what you want to protect.

It's worth paying a patent attorney to draft it properly. A rushed provisional filed the night before a conference is better than nothing, but plan to file a better one soon after.

Keep adding during the first year#

File further provisionals as you improve the technology, then combine them in the 12month application. Each gets its own priority date for what it adds.

Decide at month 12, not month 0#

At month 12, review: Has the technology moved on? Is the original approach still the one you'll commercialise? Some provisionals should be allowed to lapse while newer ones go forward.

Budget#

Costs vary widely by field and firm. As a rough guide for planning, expect:

• Year 1: drafting and filing one or two provisionals: low thousands to low tens of thousands of dollars, mostly attorney time.
• Month 12: PCT application and full drafting: typically several thousand to a few tens of thousands of dollars.
• Month 30/31: national phase in several countries: often tens of thousands of dollars or more per patent family, plus prosecution over the following years.

If the university filed (playbook 2.03), the licence usually makes the company responsible for these costs from signing; negotiate which countries you'll pay for (2.07).

Worked example (illustrative)#

A team at an Indian institute invents a low-cost hydrogen sensor.

• Month 0: the institute files an Indian provisional (low fee as an educational institution), with three sensing materials and two packaging designs.
• Month 5: the team finds a better material; the institute files a second Indian provisional.
• Month 11: the team incorporates and signs an option agreement with the institute. Month 12: the institute files a PCT application claiming both provisionals, plus an Indian complete specification.
• Month 17: the international search report finds one close prior-art paper; claims are narrowed slightly.
• Month 24: the company raises a seed round; pilots in India and Germany.
• Months 30–31: the company enters the national phase in the US, Europe, India and Japan, the markets where customers and competitors are, and drops others.

Scripts#

Briefing a patent attorney on a provisional#

"We need a provisional filed before [date], when we present. Please cover the core approach plus these variations: [list]. Our commercial interest is broader than the paper: [applications]. Please include draft claims so we can see what we're protecting. What would a stronger version cost, and what could we add later?"

Asking the TTO about the 12-month decision#

"The 12-month date for [application] is [date]. We'd like to discuss whether to file a PCT, which provisionals to combine, and how costs will be shared under our option. Could we meet by [month 9]?"

Telling investors where you are#

"We have [two] Indian provisionals and a PCT application filed on [date]; the international search report is due in [month]. National phase decisions are at month 30, around [date]. We'll budget [amount] for that in this round."

Common mistakes#

• A thin provisional. It protects only what it describes.
• Missing the 12-month deadline. In India there's no extension.
• Public disclosure before filing. Absolute-novelty countries won't forgive it.
• Filing abroad first from India without a foreign filing licence.
• Treating "patent pending" as protection. It's an option, not a right.
• Not budgeting for month 30. National phase is where the money goes.
• Entering too many countries. Choose by market, competitors and manufacturing.

Related playbooks#

• 2.02 Invention disclosures
• 2.04 Patent or publish first?
• 2.06 Freedom to operate
• 2.19 Patent landscape mapping
• 2.20 IP budget: what to file at pre-seed

Sources#

• US fees: 37 CFR 1.16; Beancount, USPTO 2026 fee schedule guide.
• India: Intepat, provisional application in India (2026) and types of application; SS Rana, patent FAQ and filing forms.
• PCT: Intepat, US filing from India; Startup Grants India, provisional application FAQs. Worked example is illustrative; cost ranges are rough planning guides. Not legal advice. Last checked November 2026.