I am not an attorney, so this is not to be taken as legal advice.  If you have legal questions, I recommend you speak to an attorney. However, from my experience, I can provide you some thoughts on the patent process, and what goes into it. First, you do not need to file a provisional patent if you are prepared to file a regular patent. With regards to LegalZoom, you do not have to use LegalZoom to apply for a Provisional Patent application, yet if a service like this assists you, then you should use this service.

What is a Provisional Patent?

A Provisional Patent can be very informal, such as just copies of your notes and drawings of your invention. For a Provisional Patent, all you need to do is write down your invention, how it works, and provide a drawing documentation if applicable. This is the simplest form to get started with the patent process, without spending the higher fees to file a patent with an attorney. You do not need an attorney to file a Provisional Patent application, yet I would highly recommend one to file a regular patent, which usually has more details and specifics than a provisional patent. You can fill out the forms completely online by visiting the USPTO website.

USPTO http://www.uspto.gov

Why should you file a Provisional Patent application?

Filing a provisional patent gives an inventor time to fine-tune their product to meet the requirements of customers and the market. When an inventor eventually does file a regular patent, they will do so for a product that they know will sell and earn profits and at the same time the product is protected from copyright infringement. The validity of the Provisional Patent application starts from the date of filing the application, and is non-extendable.

The U.S. has a "first to invent" system:

The U.S. has a "first to invent" patent system (unlike the "first to file" system in most foreign countries), so if you carefully document your invention ideas, you can still become the owner of a patent even if someone files an application before you do. However, the patent office (and the courts) have a very high standard that you would have to meet to prove you were the earlier inventor. One requirement is "due diligence" by documenting your patents, dating the papers, and making sure everything is dated. You can even take your invention idea, write it down on a paper, sign and seal it in an envelope and send it to yourself to get the postmarked date, or have someone who is a Notary Republic sign and date the bottom of your documents. You should also be able to show that you were working on the idea consistently before you filed the application. If you come up with an invention idea, put it aside for a few months, and then start working on it, you won't get credit for that long gap.

For this reason, most people just rely on filing dates, it's so much easier to prove a filing date. Provisional Patent applications are great for this, as they provide a date certain. The one downside to the provisional application is that you only have a 1-year time limit to file a full regular patent application. If you think you're more than a year away from a formal application, then you should probably hold off on the Provisional Patent application.

As far as determining if a software innovation is successful for a patent, it's not safe to say that one innovation will be successful at obtaining patents without knowing anything about what it is you are filing a patent for. This decision is up to the patent examiner. 

However, it's highly recommended that you thoroughly research the invention you are filing a patent on, and if there is nothing already just like it, then you can file a patent. If there is prior art, you need to show how your invention is clearly different from what already exists. Most software innovations that are successful are game changers, and not obvious. For instance, many debate Amazon's "one click" patent was too obvious.  If you are filing an innovation that is so obvious, then it would not be recommended going through the patent process.

To figure out if your innovations are truly novel and patentable, you need to do your research. You should research Google Patent Search prior to filing your Provisional Application, or research what is already out there through the USPTO website.

Google Patent Search
http://www.google.com/patents

It's recommended that you file a patent on something if you can prove or back what you are claiming is unique about your innovation, or how it makes an improvement over what is already available.

With your question about putting the innovations into "units" and applied for separately, this is not necessary for a Provisional Patent application, or even for a regular patent. The examiner will come back to you, if the examiner deems that your patent needs to be separated into different patent applications.

I recommend you check out the links, and About.com has some great information on filing patents, as well as where to find information.

Best of luck with filing your provisional patent. Hopefully this helps!
Source(s):
http://inventors.about.com/od/patents/Patents.htm

http://inventors.about.com/od/applicationforms/Patent_Trademark_Copyright_A...

http://inventors.about.com/od/patenttrademarkcopyright/Intellectual_Propert... http://inventors.about.com

http://www.startupnation.com/articles/9108/1/pursue-invention.html

http://www.morebusiness.com/running_your_business/legal/Provisional-Patent....

http://paulstamatiou.com/2007/09/22/step-2-apply-for-a-provisional-patent

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Disclaimer: I'm not an attorney, so don't take this as gospel truth, but I've filed 12 Provisional patents. My startup ran out of capital before we could file the Regulatories.

An important thing to know is that obtaining a Patent isn't as difficult (read: expensive) as defending it.

Think of Provisionals like place holders. They reserve your spot in line, in case someone else files the same Patent next week. You then have a year to file the Regulatory, but can use "Patent Pending" in the meantime.

In the Provisional, you can get by with being "sort of" vague (attorneys will probably flame me for that one), but you should provide as many specifics as you can. You can then architect your software and/or build your product so it's fundamentally unique, if there are possible competitors.

I would try to separate features ("units") into individual filings b/c the provisional is only $75 (going on memory here), and you'll have a chance at winning one or some, even if others aren't totally unique.

Finally, since it sounds like you're short on cash, spend a day at uspto.gov, reviewing possible competing patents yourself. You know more about your product than an attorney does, so you'll be able to determine if and how yours is different. It will also help you think about ways to work around any possible competing patents, when building your product.

You'll be well-served getting an attorney to help you with the Regulatory, tho. It's a very time-intensive process and you'll want to be very involved in the process. Provide the attorney with a lot of product detail, the competing Patents you've found, etc. And be up-front with your budget and how much you can afford to spend. It will allow them to help prioritize the Provisionals, if necessary.
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Patent law is currently a sea of chaos, and the net effect is that patents simply don't pack the oomph that they once did. ---particulary for startups. For example the Supreme Court recently issued a decision in eBay v. MercExcahnge, which many people expect will change the value of patents for small companies that don't actually make and sell a product.
In the wake of the court's decisoin in the eBay case, tech startups simply cannot count on their patents as an effective and efficient tool to shut down the Microsofts of the world. And that's after you actually have a patent.  Just getting to that point could take years....and years....and years.
Als, the application backlog at the Patent and Trademark Officeis at an all-time high.  Current statistics show that the average patent application takes longer than thirty months from the date of filing to the date of issue. Factor in some of the more backlogged tech areas,such as Web Business and Internet Business methods, and it will realistically be 5 years before the patent office even starts to examine your application. The dealy is know to be as long as ten years in certain technology areas. Your competition could run you over by then, and its more than likely we'll all be on to Web 5.0 by the time you get the patent approved.

Put patents in the right place. Practically speaking, this means asking "Should we patent?"
Look Beyond the value in legal action. When considering the role of patents in your overall strategy, remember that they can add value beyond just the ability to sue a competitor. Blocking your competitiors from getting patents can keep them from suing you.
Consider the role that patents will paly in your business. Never forget that inventions come before patents. Are they an imprtant component ofthe value and growth of the company? Above all develop an overall branding strategy for your trademarks.
As for legal advice the bottom line is if Legalzoom or or your patent attorney tells you that you must patent everything without regard to the big picture, do yourself a favor and find a new one. A good patent attorney looks at the big picture and proposes a strategy for you--not a bunch of disparate tactics


Source(s):
Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition
pgs 292-293
Guy Kawasaki 2008
isbn 978-1-59184-223-1

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Here are some of the helpful reviews I found:
http://online-legal-forms-review.toptenreviews.com/legalzoom-review.html
http://www.xomreviews.com/legalzoom.com
http://www.llc-made-easy.com/legalzoom-review.html

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