From the outset, diligent development records are kept to prove date of conception and diligence in reduction to practice. If appropriate non-disclosures cannot be secured from potential licensees, provisional patent applications are filed and a licensee is sought who will incur the costs of a regular patent application. For the priority date conferred by a provisional filing to be valid, a regular patent application must be filed within a year of the provisional filing. If a licensee has not been found by this time, a careful cost-benefit analysis is performed to determine whether to incur the cost of patenting and continued marketing of the intellectual property.