What "Patent Pending" Means

• The words "patent pending" or "pat. pend." on an item mean that the item's inventor has filed a patent application with the USPTO. To legally place the words "patent pending" on an item, the inventor must have a patent application pending before the USPTO. The marking "patent pending" is meant to put other inventors, manufacturers and sellers on notice that the item may soon be protected by a patent.
  
  

Using or Copying a "Patent Pending" Idea

• As of 2010, items marked "Patent Pending" may be copied by other manufacturers. Because a pending patent application does not grant the property rights that a granted patent does, use of the idea before the patent issues does not infringe on the pending patent application.
  
  However, manufacturers should pay close attention to the date of the application and stay alert for the possibility that the patent will be issued. The moment a patent is issued for a product, anyone making, using or selling that product without the patent holder's permission is liable for infringement.
  
  

Exception: Published Patent Applications

• Makers, users and sellers of an item similar to one marked "patent pending" are liable to the inventor in one specific circumstance. If the pending patent application is published and the potential infringer is notified of the publication, the inventor may sue for damages accrued from the date the infringer received notice. The inventor may sue only after the patent is issued.
  
  Patent applications are usually published 18 months after they are filed. If you are thinking of copying an item whose patent is pending, pay careful attention to published patent applications. Published applications, as well as issued patents, may be viewed at the USPTO website.
  
  

"Secret" Patent Infringement

• Patent applicants may ask the USPTO not to publish their patent application. Even if a patent application is not published, a maker, user or seller of a product similar to a "patent pending" product will still be liable to the inventor if they are notified that a patent application is pending. This situation is known as "secret" patent infringement, because the potential infringer has no way to find out about the patent application except by notice from the inventor. Like a published patent application, the inventor may sue for damages from the date of notification, but only if the patent is actually issued.
  
  

Remedies

• If the patent is issued and the inventor sues the properly notified infringers, the inventor may receive one of several remedies. The most common is money damages payable from the time the infringer received notice of the patent application. If the infringer is still making, using or selling an infringing product, the inventor may also request a permanent injunction, or a court order requiring the infringer to stop the activities.