In the United States yes absolutely. In fact this is even relativelymon because there are different considerations made in the filing of a provisional than regular applications. A provisional application doesn have a lot of rules about what goes in it. You can write a long long application describing for example aplete process for converting raw materials to a finished product on an assembly line and then file that as a provisional application. Then you can write in a regular application say a claim #1 claiming a novel material handling machine for positioning products on the assembly line a claim #2 claiming a novel method of keeping materials at a desired temperature as they pass through process stations on the assembly line and you might file a claim #3 claiming the novel mechanism that was built on that assembly line. And maybe a claim #4 a method claim for a process of making that novel product which involves positioning a product just so and maintaining the positioned product within a particular temperature range while preforming processes x y and z on the product. You know you would very like get a Restriction Requirement (objection to the application saying that the claims are not related to one invention and requiring you to choose one set of claims directed to only one invention in the application and to cancel the other claims) if you tried to write a patent application with one independent claim to a material handling machine (claim #1) AND one independent claim to a method of keeping materials at a desired temperature while they move through processing stations (claim #2) because these are very different inventions which would not be classified together and would require an entirely different search strategy by the examiner. So you may want to forego the delay that would occur if a restriction requirement were issued and then answered and just start out with one application with Claim# 1 as an independent claim a second regular application with Claim # 2 as an independent claim. And a third regular application with Claim #3 as an independent claim. You might try to include Claim #4 in that third applicationthey may be arguably related Or you may want to file a fourth regular application with Claim # 4 as an independent claim. All 3 (or 4) regular applications can claim priority to the provisional application assuming that they meet the requirements (filed within a year of the provisional application for example) Of course another way that you could have more than one application claiming priority to the same provisional is if you do file one regular application and a restriction requirement is issued saying you have two inventions. You could then amend the first application to pursue just the first invention then file a divisional application directed to the second invention and claiming to the provisional application via the first non-provisional application. Or maybe you filed a provisional application on a product started selling the product started selling millions of them in a matter of weeks then found out through your network of contacts that there was copycat starting production of the same product in the US. So you immediately file a US regular application and do everything you can to expedite the prosecution of that application so that you can use an issued patent to stop yourpetitor. And because your product is so phenomenally successful you also file a PCT application designating all countries (because it easier and no more expensive that way than to name 35 countries) and claiming priority to the provisional application. All countries includes the US. A PCT application designating the US is considered a US patent application by the USPTO and could be a basis for entering the national stage in the US (thus you have a second regular application claiming priority to the same provisional application). But of course youll have to figure something else to claim otherwise you could get a double patenting rejection if your PCT national stage application has identical claims to the first filed US regular application. This is actually useful because by the time the US national stage application gets filed you have a lot more information about what your clientpetitor has and you can craft the claims that you file so that they more clearly reflect the structure that thepetitor is using (while making sure that you have support for these crafted claims in the provisional application)