Can I file a brief description of my invention as a provisional now and then worry about flushing it out in a regular application later?
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While the patent office allows you to file anything as a provisional application, the patent rules, laws and court cases are clear that unless a provisional has the same content as a regular application (albeit informally presented) it is not entitled to keep its serial number and filing date and all protection from the provisional application will be lost. See: "What is a provisional utility patent application?" for a more complete explaination.
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