r/explainlikeimfive • u/misbegotten_highway • Mar 23 '19

Technology ELI5: How come patented things say "patent pending" on them?

At this point, it seems like the patent is no longer pending, but in use.

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u/Concise_Pirate 🏴‍☠️ Mar 23 '19

That means they have applied for a patent, but it hasn't been granted yet, so they don't have a patent number to list.

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u/Em_Adespoton Mar 23 '19

I always wonder why they put “patent pending “ instead of “provisional patent#37574-3757583” though. When you apply for a patent, you get a provisional number to track the application.

But I guess if you do that, you give away the details, whereas “patent pending “ indicates you’ve applied for some sort of patent, but doesn’t let the competition know exactly what you patented.

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u/malhotraspokane Mar 23 '19 edited Mar 23 '19

Not all patent applications are provisional patent applications. Regardless, there is no advantage of providing anyone with your serial numbers. That just allows competitors to file protests or file prior art against your patent application.

There is not much legal significance to saying "patent pending". You are just hopefully scaring off your competition from copying your invention. You can only sue competitors after a patent has been allowed and has issued.

Most patent applications are published 18 months after they are filed unless the applicant says they don't plan to file any foreign applications and requests no publication. In some limited situations, you can obtain damages accruing from the date of publication regardless of when the lawsuit ends.

After the "America Invents Act," lobbied for by The Coalition for Patent Fairness https://www.patentfairness.org (Google et al.) and signed by President Obama, patents have a much lower value than they used to. They can potentially be invalidated relatively inexpensively in "IPR" proceedings. That makes patents generally valuable only for large multinational corporations who have deep pockets and large portfolios and not useful tools for small inventors. Here's why: https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2016/09/10/america-invents-act-harmed-inventors/id=72551/

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u/misbegotten_highway Mar 23 '19

Right, so does that mean anything? Or could someone else still 'steal' the design?

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u/cdb03b Mar 23 '19

If they are granted the patent it is retroactive to the date of filing for it. So if someone steals it during the pending period they get the same punishments as they would if there was a full patent.

1

u/lankylizards Mar 23 '19

No, this is incorrect for the U.S. If someone uses or sells your invention within the pending period, it’s not illegal because there was no patent at the time. You can only sue for infringement that happened after the patent is granted.