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
Why you need to think long and hard about filing provisional patent applications.
It used to be the case that filing provisional applications was the way to go. Oftentimes, these Provisional patent applications were drafted by the applicant, and then express mailed on over to the Patent Office. Through the process, the applicant would save on attorney’s fees and attorney’s fees. Unfortunately, past rules changes have altered provisional patent practice which brings the routine into sharper focus and consternation.
How to effectively use patents, trademarks, and copyrights and your intellectual property portfolio.
In order to properly use any tool you need to know what it does. You should know its strengths and weaknesses. The same holds true for Intellectual Property, namely, Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights. By knowing their differences, you can employ these tools to fashion the most suitable IP portfolio for your business or ideas.
