Marketing vs. intellectual property

What does marketing has to do with patents? You might ask.

Marketing is at least as important as protecting your intellectual property. 

However, it is important that you only start marketing your invention after you file a patent application. Since novelty is one of the requirements of patentability, you will not be able to patent your invention if it is already published, i.e. is not new anymore. Any disclosure (e.g. a website, crowdfunding campaign, etc.) of your idea before the filing date will prevent you from obtaining a patent later.

Patent pending

If you filed a patent application, you should let your customers and competitors know by adding the phrase "patent pending". If your application has been granted, you can use the expression "patented". Using the patent pending phrase can be advantageous for many reasons. It will render your product better and more valuable than the similar products on the market. Furthermore, your customers will automatically assume that your product has newer features and is more innovative (since only new and inventive inventions can be patented) than the known products.

After your patent application is published, you can also provide more detail of the application or a link to the patent database's website where the whole text can be found.

You should not use the expressions "patent pending" or "patented", if the marked product (or methods) is not covered by a pending patent application or a granted patent. Fraudulent use of a patent pending designation is prohibited by the law in several countries.

Similarly, you can use ® sign for registered trademarks, it also increases the value of your business and brand.

Author: Zsofia Pintz
Published: August 2020
Updated: July 2023