I began filing a provisional patent application covering some work that spun out of my most recent project, but quickly realized that the Tech Transfer Office exists for a reason and passed the idea off to them. However, learning the process still seems pretty valuable in the long run and I’m currently putting together an application for an idea unrelated to my research work. We learned about provisional applications in a Pharmaceutical Biotechnology class and I left the class with the impression that anyone could just throw one together. This is definitely not the case. A provisional application is almost as thorough as a full patent application. The provisional applications are not reviewed by the patent office until non-provisional applications are filed, but, in the event that the patent reaches the next level, a good provisional application is critical. I thought I would log in today and write about how easy filing a provisional application is and share the steps with my site visitors, but this is definitely not the case. I will keep you updated on the process, but it will be learning process.