The publication of a patent application marks the date at which it is publicly available and therefore at which it forms full prior art for other patent applications worldwide.

It should be understood that a publication is still an application - and cannot be enforced as an issued patent in terms of infringement.

There are some potential monetary advantages to this. In exchange for publication of a patent application, patentees may be able to obtain a reasonable royalty during the period beginning on the date of publication of the application.