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[Robert K S]

The form-fillable ADS is here.  When you fill in the domestic priority information to claim continuation from your provisional, leave the first application number field blank, which means "this application".

PS, obviously, you will have to rescind the non-publication request if you later opt to foreign file.

[LaplacesDemon]

See? This is all falling right into place, lol. That was exactly what I needed to know to keep me from freaking out tomorrow. I don't handle frustration very well. Particularly when computers are involved.

BTW if I was going to rephrase and answer my question in the OP above I would have said it like, "How do you know that you're getting the RIGHT patent and not just any patent?" And my answer would be, "When your claims get you around the prior art, leave you a lot of operating room, and keep anyone else from following the important parts of your work."

Oh look at me. I write a few untested patent claims and already I'm an expert. Shutting up now.

[LaplacesDemon]

How do you determine whether you should file for international? What criteria do you base that on? And btw what's the deal on the backslashes to sign the thing? Is that just one in front and back or do you fill the field or what? This is all news to me.

[Robert K S]

The point with the form-fillable PDFs is they are not to be printed out and scanned back in.

So you can't sign them with a pen.

You have to use an electronic signature.

How does one do that?

If my name were Peg Mumbledy, I would sign my name electronically by typing

/Peg Mumbledy/

And that's pretty much it.

Your question about when to file internationally is a topic for its own thread... or its own forum...  But like any patent, or any endeavor in life, you do it when you believe the benefit will outweigh the cost, or to put it another way, when you believe the invention has an excellent chance of being sufficiently profitable to justify the filing, prosecution and maintenance, and when locking competitors out of the market is an important part of profitability.

[DogDayPM 9er9er9er]

That's /MARGARET Kathryn Mumbledy/, goofball!  (Keep it formal, y'know).

Like RKS said, you file in foreign countries when it's worth it to you to pay that price (cost of getting/keeping the foreign patents) to try to help keep the competitors in those foreign countries from copying your invention in those countries.  Or sometimes you get started on paying those costs if you think it'll be worth it to someone ELSE.

Most companies file their inventions as a PCT application within 1 year after filing their first application filing, and the PCT claims "priority" to that initial filing.  The PCT filing becomes a holding house from which you can file most countries of interest within another 18 month period (notable exceptions are a few countries who have NOT signed onto the PCT processing such as Taiwan, Argentina... can't remember others).  Anyway, most countries are covered by the PCT.  So you might consider filing the PCT application if you think you'll eventually be able to sell your patent application to a corporation.  If they think there's any worth in controlling your patent application, it'll be worth more to them if they have foreign filing options.

PS, go also with RKS's reco on the Cute PDF converter (that's the "brand" name for the PDF maker that the USPTO refers to as ABXPDF).  Even with complex chemical formulae that {High-Cost Brand Name PDF Software} sometimes fails to convert, Cute PDF works faithfully and well.  (I miss it - my current corp won't let me put it on my work computer and insists on paying the licensing fees for that {High-Cost Brand Name PDF Software} which DOES occasionally fail to convert certain types of text such as the afore-mentioned chemical formulae faithfully).


EDIT:  I just realized you're filing a US utility and claiming priority from a previously-filed US provisional?  Your time to file the PCT expires at the same time as your US provisional (tomorrow, is it?), if you want to claim priority to the provisional.

[LaplacesDemon]

Actually I've got till Friday but it will be done today.