Provisional application

So, imagine that you have a toy that you're not quite ready to share with your friends yet. You want to keep it safe and secret until you figure out exactly how you want to play with it.

A provisional application works kind of like that. It's a way for inventors to keep their ideas safe and secret while they figure out the best way to turn them into real inventions.

When someone has an idea for a new invention, they can file a provisional application with the government. This is like putting your toy in a special box that only you have the key to.

By filing a provisional application, the inventor gets a special "priority date." This means that if anyone else comes up with the same idea after that date, the inventor who filed the provisional application gets to be the one who gets the credit for inventing it.

The provisional application also gives the inventor a year to work on their invention and figure out exactly how they want to make it. During that year, they can file a regular patent application that goes into more detail about the invention.

So, to recap: a provisional application is like putting your toy in a secret box to keep it safe and make sure you get credit for coming up with the idea. It gives inventors time to work on their ideas and turn them into real inventions without worrying about anyone else stealing them.