When Should I Submit Patent Drawings?

The standard for submitting drawings in a provisional patent application is rather simple. Ask yourself, are these drawings necessary for “one of ordinary skill in the field of my invention” to understand what it is that I am trying to patent. If the answer is NO, then you don’t need drawings in a provisional at all. If the answer is YES, then you could submit ANY type of drawings – whether they are non-formal sketches, or expertly drafted figures. What about when drawings ARE required for a formal patent application?

For the regular patent application that follows the provisional patent, there is a requirement for formal drawings. There are a number of requirements to which these drawings must adhere. You can look through the MPEP (manual of patent examining procedure) Section 608.02 for some of those requirements.

Lastly, if the drawings you submit with your regular (non-provisional) patent application don’t conform to the formal drawing requirements, you will NOT loose your priority date (so long as they were initially filed within a year). The patent office will give you a chance to correct your informal drawings. Here is the catch: If those drawings that you resubmit show some concept that was not understood from your provisional patent application, you may likely loose your priority date to those new concepts.

If you are interested in more detail related to your situation it is best to speak with an attorney.

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Yuri Eliezer heads the intellectual property practice group at Founders Legal. As an entrepreneur who saw the importance of early-stage patent protection, Yuri founded SmartUp®. Clients he has served include Microsoft, Cisco, Cox, AT&T, General Electric, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and Coca-Cola.

Source: Smartup Legal