have you read about them? do you know the difference between what each patent covers? i swear they try and make it too difficult to understand for us lamens

1. provisional is cheaper, like $180 or something. BUT you HAVE to file a NON provisional within 12 months of filing the provisional or it becomes void

you cannot file a provisional for a design patent, only a utility patent. its like a way to get you off the ground for cheaper, but ends up costing more by the time your done.

2. a utility patent, which covers "article of manufacture" protects the mechanical assembly, and the functionality of the object.

3. a design patent covers the visual design, asthetics etc. it covers the way it looks, but not how it works or the way it assembles.

4. you can file a combo patent for utility/design

this is a summary of what I read about. Im no lawyer, so I may be slightly off, but I read this stuff 1/2 dozen times.