Benefits Of A US Patent Pending SignPatent, in a general sense, is a document that is issued by a government which confers a special right/privilege to the person who files for the patent. When a person thinks that he has an invention or an idea (which he would like to work further on), which is unique and wants to protect it from being stolen by someone. The patent gives the owner of the patent the exclusive right to use, make pr market a device, product or method for a specific period of time. However, the person who files for the patent is not given the right over the product or method he applies for straightaway but has to wait for some time till the patent is issued. The patent office generally takes some time looking at the feasibility of granting the patent and issues the patent only after confirming that the idea purported by the applicant is actually unique and the first in its genre. When you have field for a patent and have not been issued it as yet, the patent is said to be pending. For example, when you have applied for a patent in the United States of America, and your patent application is still being considered by the patent authorities, it is known as US patent pending. In fact, patent pending is also known as patent applied for or even pat. pending or pat. pend in an abbreviated form. The official agency which grants patents in the United States of America is the USPTO or the United States patent and trademark office. Once a patent has been applied for, this agency grants the right to the inventors to use the terms US patent pending or patent applied for while referring to their method or device. This permission is granted till the actual patent is granted or till the application for the patent is abandoned or dismissed. The US patent pending sign or marking serves as a means to tell everyone that the patent has been applied for, but has not been granted. The US patent pending sign is also, in most cases effective in notifying potential infringers or people who plan to copy the new invention or technique that doing so can be really harmful an that they are liable to pay damages, or even seizure or injunction after the patent is issued. The US patent pending sign thus is an effective means of warning potential infringers about the dangers of infringement. Though a patent or a US patent is considered to be an intangible asset whose benefits can be enjoyed but which cannot be seen or touched, a US patent pending sign can similarly be considered an intangible asset which serves to keep infringers at bay. However, there is no guarantee that the patent pending sign is a sure shot way to keep off infringers. There is also no guarantee that once you use the patent applied for sign, you would surely be granted the patent for your novel idea or invention. |