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"Patented" means a patent office has examined an invention, approved it, and granted the owner exclusive rights to it for a limited period. The label applies only after grant. An application still under review is pending, not patented.
The right to exclude, not the right to use. A patent lets the owner stop others from making, using, selling or importing the invention without permission, and lets them license or sell that right.
It does not guarantee the owner can practice the invention themselves. A product can fall inside someone else's earlier patent even while being patented in its own right, which is why freedom to operate is a separate question from patentability.
| Status | What it means | Can others use it? |
|---|---|---|
| Patent pending | Application filed, not yet approved | Yes, though provisional rights may apply from publication |
| Patented | Granted and currently in force | No, not without permission |
| Expired or lapsed | Term ended, or a patent renewal fee went unpaid | Yes, it is in the public domain |
Patent pending is a legitimate label for a filed application. It signals that an application exists, not that any right is yet enforceable.
No. Patents are territorial, so an invention is patented only in the countries where a patent was actually granted. There is no global patent.
An invention can be patented in the United States, pending in Europe, and entirely unprotected everywhere else, all at the same time. This is why portfolios are managed country by country.
Only while its patent annuity payments are up to date. A patent that reaches the end of its term, or whose annuity payment goes unpaid, stops being patented and the invention becomes free for anyone to use.
That means "patented" describes a current status rather than a permanent property of the invention. Checking the register is the only way to confirm it still holds.
