What each status actually means
These five words are used loosely almost everywhere, and the differences between them are the differences between a date and an enforceable right. This page is the vocabulary the rest of the site uses, defined once.
Why this page exists
Most disputes about what a register says are really disputes about what a word meant. Writing the definitions down and rendering every entry's status from the same list removes the ambiguity in both directions: we cannot overclaim, and a reader cannot fairly infer more than is written.
"Patent pending" is the most misread of them
It means an application exists and has not been examined. It does not mean a patent will be granted, it confers no rights that can be enforced against anybody today, and it is not a weaker form of "patented" — it is a different thing entirely, describing a stage in a process.
- Unfiled — Not filed. Nothing about this has been disclosed publicly, and disclosing it would forfeit the right to patent it.
- Provisional application filed — A provisional application has been filed, establishing a priority date. It is not a patent and confers no enforceable rights on its own.
- Application filed — A non-provisional application has been filed. It has not yet been examined.
- Patent pending — The application is under examination. "Patent pending" describes exactly this state and nothing more.
- Granted — A patent has been granted. This is the only status under which the word "patented" is accurate.
- Lapsed or abandoned — The application or patent is no longer in force. It remains listed because the disclosure is public and the prior art stands.
Questions
What does "patent pending" actually mean?
That an application has been filed and is waiting to be examined. It is not a patent, it confers no enforceable rights on its own, and it may never become one. It does establish a date, which is often the point.
What is the difference between a provisional and a filed application?
A provisional establishes a priority date and is never examined or published as a patent; it expires after twelve months unless a full application follows and claims its date. A non-provisional is the real application — it is examined, and it is what can become a granted patent.
Why are some things missing from this register?
Because publishing an invention before it is filed is a public disclosure, and in most jurisdictions that forfeits the right to patent it. Anything not yet filed is deliberately absent — not summarised, not teased, not listed as "coming". An empty space here is a decision, not an omission.