Patent pending is the term used to describe a patent application that has been filed with the patent office, but has not issued as a patent. Patent pending indicates that the inventor is pursuing protection, but the scope of protection, or whether a patentwill even issue, is still undetermined.

Patent applications filed in the United States typically have “patent pending” for 1 to 3 years. However, it is not uncommon for some patent applications (e.g. software and electronic applications) to have patent pending status for 3 to 5+ years.

The inventor and his or her representative may begin to approach companies (or “licensees”) about licensing the patent-pending invention once the patentapplication enters examination. Since a formal patent is not granted, the inventor may offer discounted royalties to the licensee up until the point of patent grant.