IPNITE PATENT GUIDE
What Does Patent Pending Mean?
"Patent pending" tells the market that you have filed a patent application. It does not mean a patent has been granted or that anyone is already infringing.
IPniteWhat it does
Marking a product "patent pending" signals that protection may be coming, which can discourage copying and add credibility with investors and partners. In the United States you can use it once a provisional or nonprovisional application covering the product is filed.
What it does not do
You cannot sue for infringement until a patent is granted. In the United States, a published application can give rise to provisional rights—a reasonable royalty from publication—if the granted claims are substantially identical to the published ones and the infringer had actual notice.
Use it honestly
Using "patent pending" when no application covers the product is false marking, which U.S. law penalizes, and misleading claims can be sanctioned under consumer-protection rules in other countries. Stop using it if the application is abandoned.
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