Whether one may safely copy a product which is merely “patent pending” depends on a variety of circumstances. Preliminarily, a “patent pending” designation on a product indicates that a patent application has been filed for the product, but it has not yet issued into a patent. Normally, one cannot be sued for patent infringement for […]
Archives for May 2020
Why are patent applications so slow and costly?
There is no one-size fits all for U.S. patent applications. There are options for both those who are well-financed and need broad patent protection, for those on a tight budget, and for those who just need to get something quickly filed before they deliver a presentation at a conference. Before discussing timeline and budget, a […]
Is there a way to search for provisional patents?
Generally, provisional patent applications are never officially published by the U.S. Patent Office and most other patent offices. However, their subsequent, corresponding non-provisional patent applications may be published. As such, a published non-provisional application or issued patent may make reference to a provisional application by title, assigned serial (government reference) number for the application, and […]
How to cite or showcase a provisional patent application?
When preparing their pitch decks for investors, venture capitalists, marketing and recruiting key players, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and tech companies often ask: “How to cite or showcase a provisional patent application? “ Quick answer: Ideally “Patent Pending” on the pitch deck is good enough. The moment a provisional United States Patent Application is filed in […]
What is a Provisional Patent Application?
A U.S. provisional patent application is one that can sometimes be quickly and cheaply filed to obtain a filing date for an invention. Under today’s “first-to-file” system, the first of two competing independent inventors (e.g both invented similar products) to file a patent application and obtain a filing date prevails over the other inventor who […]
Why does every product say patent pending?
Historically, product marketers heavily use the term “patent pending” on many products, as consumers often desire purchasing the latest and greatest technology as a successful selling technique in business today. Some but not all products will say “Patent Pending” or “Registered US Patent No. XX,XXX,XXX” which is technically referred to as “marking” where it is […]