[5] A 12-month benefit of priority to foreign-filed applications had been a part of U.S. patent law since the 1901 U.S. ratification of the Brussels revision of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
[7] The USPTO announced on December 8, 2010, that it was implementing a Missing Parts Pilot Program.
[9] A provisional application includes a specification, i.e., a description, and drawing(s) of an invention (drawings are required where necessary for the understanding of the subject matter sought to be patented[10]), but does not require formal patent claims, inventors' oaths or declarations, or any information disclosure statement (IDS).
[13] If a non-provisional application is not expected to be filed within one year, and the patent is not otherwise barred by law, another provisional application may also be filed at any time and start another one-year period (but this does not work in all cases).
Any such statement filed in a provisional application will be returned or destroyed at the option of the Office.