How to Get Patent Pending Status for your Invention
If you are wondering how to get patent pending status on your invention, you will be happy to know that all you have to do is to file a provisional patent application (PPA) with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A PPA is not the same as a regular patent application, because it involves much less work and less cost than a regular patent application. The fee to file a PPA is $110, but this is increased to $220 for large firms.
You need to provide a detailed description of your invention with the application, in which you describe how to make and use the invention, and you should also include an informal drawing of the invention. You must file a regular patent application within 1 year of filing the PPA if you want to be able to claim the PPA filing date in the future.
Patent pending status means that a patent application has been filed and is pending at the USPTO. To claim this status, you must have already filed the patent application but the patent must not yet be granted and the application must not be abandoned.
Patent pending status begins on the day that a patent application is filed and it ends on the day that a patent is granted or that the application is abandoned.
Patent pending status doesn’t provide the holder with any legally enforceable rights, since only a granted patent can provide you with legal patent rights. Nonetheless, patent pending status does have some weight and influence especially when you present your invention with patent pending to potential investors, buyers and licensees.
Patent pending status typically lasts from 1 to 3 years, but it’s not uncommon for certain applications on things like software and electronic devices to have patent pending status for up to 5 years.
