4. Provisional Decision

Decision to Pursue Patent Protection

If the initial internal review indicates that there is sufficient commercial and patentability potential, the CRI will file a provisional patent application.  A provisional patent application preserves the priority date for the invention but does not undergo substantive prosecution. In order to maintain the priority date and continue prosecution, a non-provisional patent application needs to be filed within one (1) year of the filing of the provisional application (see step #5). Not every provisional patent application that the CRI files is converted into a non-provisional application.

Decision Not to Pursue Patent Protection

If the initial internal review indicates that there is insufficient commercial potential, the inventor(s) will receive a notice that the CRI is not pursuing patent protection for their invention. Should the inventors wish to pursue patent protection on their own and at their own expense, they may contact the CRI, which will assist in this process.