What is a filing date?

The filing date is the date on which the US Patent and Trademark Office receives your complete patent application.

Provisional patents were created to allow inventors to establish earlier filing dates for subsequently-filed full patent applications. If a full patent is later granted, the inventor will have established this early filing date and can use it as proof of the date on which his or her patent protection began.

Inventors should also make a note of the date on which their full patent application is published. Once an application is published, an applicant can claim temporary rights against infringers, since the publication gives notice to third parties that an application is under review. If a patent is granted, the inventor may seek royalty payments from any person who made or used the invention while the application was pending.