You’ve got an idea you believe in. That’s a powerful place to be. But before you start sketching, building, or investing real effort, time, and money in developing your concept, there’s one critical step you shouldn't skip:
Make sure it’s actually yours to build.
This isn’t just about ethics. It’s about time, money, and protecting your future.
Why Intellectual Property (IP) Matters More Than You Think
Imagine pouring your energy and savings into building your idea, only to discover someone else patented something similar just a few months or even days before you. Or worse, that they claimed exclusive rights in their patent’s claims section, and technically, you’d need their permission to do what you're doing.
Developing or building without checking existing patents could lead to cease-and-desist letters, lawsuits, or having to abandon months (or years) of work. The average patent lawsuit can cost millions of dollars.
Sadly, these aren't horror stories reserved for billion-dollar lawsuits. They are surprisingly common mistakes made by solo inventors and small startups every day.
If you’re a founder, inventor, or working inside a small business, you need to be checking prior art (earlier patents in your field) and figuring out if your idea is unique and buildable.
Why Inventors Should Think About Patents Before Prototypes
Without a patent, your idea is vulnerable. It can be copied, blocked, or buried before it even sees the light of day. Even if you came up with the idea independently, if someone else filed a similar patent before you, even by a day, you could lose the right to protect or profit from your invention.
So why do many founders skip this part?
Most founders avoid the patenting process because the traditional patent process is known to be expensive, lengthy, and complicated.
• Expensive - Filing a single U.S. patent can cost anywhere between $25,000–$75,000, depending on complexity and whether you include the process of “patent prosecution” (back-and-forth communications via attorneys with the USPTO patent examiners after the patent has been filed).
• Lengthy - The average time it takes to get a patent approved in the U.S. is 22-26 months according to the USPTO. That’s about two years; plenty of time for someone else to claim your space if you don’t act early.
• Complicated - You don’t need a law degree, but it can feel like you do, and even once you have a patent approved, there is no guarantee that it will hold up in court if you are prosecuted [75-80% of venture-backed startups fail, with IP disputes being a growing contributor to costly legal battles].
Good ideas are everywhere. The ones that survive are the ones protected.
I get it. It’s easy to push patents down the road. Most founders are focused on building, pitching, prototyping, and maybe sleeping occasionally. But too often, smart people move fast on execution without checking one basic thing: Can I actually build this? Is it mine to build?
And that’s where the patent system comes in, especially the provisional application.
What Happens If You Don’t File
You might be infringing without realizing it. You might finally get to market, only to find someone else already owns the space.
You might be six months into development with no protection, and suddenly a competitor files a similar patent and threatens to shut you down.
And if you're fundraising? Investors will ask what IP you’ve secured. If your answer is “nothing yet,” that’s usually a red flag. A lack of IP strategy is one of the reasons many startups don’t make it. Around 75% of venture-backed startups fail, and IP issues are a growing contributor.
If your idea is valuable, and you're hoping to profit from it, now’s the time to get ahead of these issues. Keep reading.
Five reasons to get your provisional patent filed ASAP
Reason 1: You Need That Filing Date
In the U.S., we follow a first-to-file system. That means whoever files the patent application first gets the priority, not whoever had the idea first. If someone files a patent similar to your idea even four hours earlier, they are first in line.
Filing a provisional patent locks in your date, even if it takes you another 12 months to file the full version. Think of it as marking your territory quietly and legally.
Reason 2: “Patent Pending” Is More Than Just a Sticker
Once you file your provisional patent, you can call your invention “patent pending.” That status can signal credibility in meetings with investors, customers, potential partners and competitors. and sends a message: you’re taking this seriously.
You don’t have to have the final version figured out or have a perfect prototype yet. The provisional allows you to describe your concept in its current form and gives you time to refine it.
Reason 3: Provisional Patents Buy You a 12 Month Head Start
A provisional patent gives you a 12-month runway to build, test, fundraise, and iterate before you file the full non-provisional patent.
You can refine your claims, strengthen your case, or even pivot your product during that window. It’s like a safety net—without locking you into a final draft too early. It’s like a flexible placeholder.
Reason 4: It’s Cheaper and Easier Than You Think
Filing a provisional patent does not cost $25,000. Not even close. With the right tools or help, you can often prepare and file one for a few hundred to a few thousand dollars (With SenseIP, it’s just $200 US, including prior art research, freedom to operate analysis, AI patent drafting and filing via the platform).
The quality of that filing matters. A vague or overly short application won’t help you much. But the cost shouldn’t be what holds you back, especially compared to what you’re risking without it.
Reason 5: It Forces You to Think Clearly
This might be the most underrated benefit: writing your provisional patent forces you to clarify what you’re building. You have to explain how it works, what makes it unique, and what problem it solves.
That process often reveals gaps in your idea or highlights areas where you can improve it. Some founders say this was the moment their product really came into focus.
The Bottom Line
Filing a provisional patent isn’t about locking in a million-dollar idea tomorrow. It’s about protecting the work you’re already doing. It provides you the space to develop, test, and grow without losing your place in line.
More importantly, it helps you avoid the most painful scenario of all: watching someone else patent what you built because they got there first.
Startups and inventors already face enough risks. This one is preventable.
If you’re building something new and you haven’t checked your idea’s novelty, or if your files are still sitting in a folder called “final_final_draft_v3_revised.pdf”, or if you’ve been putting off IP until “after launch,” this is your sign to get going with IP.
You don’t need to panic, and you don’t need to spend tens of thousands today. But you should take the first step. That step is filing your provisional patent.
