Home > Timelines > Henry Hudson Timeline Henry Hudson Timeline Timeline Description: Henry Hudson was an explorer who found and sailed through the river that became known as the Hudson River. He helped the world understand more about Earth's geography, and he is remembered as great explorer.
A provisional application provides the means to establish an early effective filing date in a later filed nonprovisional patent application filed under 35 U.S.C. Â§111(a). It also allows the term Patent Pending to be applied in connection with the description of the invention. A provisional application for patent has a pendency lasting 12 months from the date the provisional application is filed. The 12-month pendency period cannot be extended.
There's conflicting forces at play here that make determining when to get the provisional difficult. On the one hand, the first to patent rule motivates one to get the provisional ASAP, but then the 12 month expiration causes hesitation due to the risk of not being ready after 12 months.