Provisional patents are fast inexpensive alternatives to the more well-known utility patent. A provisional patent application can be prepared by a non-professional and filed for a minimal fee. Yet the provisional patent gives the inventor a priority or filing date that is recognized around the word. This is critical for winning the race to the patent office in a global, highly competitive world. Registered Patent Attorney Scott Thorpe explains how to quickly and cheaply protect an idea with a provisional patent application. Learn what can be patented, how to reduce your idea to a provisional patent application, how to create the drawings for the application, how to describe the drawings, and how to create claims for the invention.