The real meaning of the term patent pending.

Law Articles | August 20, 2009

The term patent pending basically means that your rights commence from your filing date all the way through the time leading up to your eventual acceptance letter from the USPTO.

There is much confusion surrounding the term patent pending. The term patent pending basically means that your rights commence from your filing date all the way through the time leading up to your eventual acceptance letter from the USPTO. During this time period, if anyone sells a knockoff or another infringing article based on your patent, you can sue them for damages. This surprises some people because during this time period, your patent may not have been examined or approved.

It is also surprising in the sense that patent applications are not even published for the first 18 months it is with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Of course, what you should bear in mind that you won’t be able to start suing anyone until you have the gold seal and pretty red ribbon. That’s the catch.

So your damages for patent infringement are legitimate if, and only if your application is eventually approved. So, the moral of the story is that you can sue someone for damages which are retroactive even though you may not have technically been granted a patent. And this time period starts the day you send off the application with the US Postal service. And it ends when you are finally granted the patent and the patent number.

Los Angeles Patent Attorney

Los Angeles Business Attorney

Article Tags: Term Patent Pending, Term Patent, Patent Pending

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The Law Office of Andrew Y. Schroeder specializes in Intellectual Property including Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights. Andrew Schroeder is licensed to practice patent law before the United States Patent, and Trademark Office (USPTO) as well as the State Bar of California. Based in Los Angeles, the Law Office of Andrew Schroeder can be found at Los Angeles Patent Attorney and a free do it yourself Patent Search is available at Free Patent Search Video Tutorial.