Once I’m “patent pending” can I discuss my invention openly?

One can claim “patent pending” status after a provisional, utility, design or plant application is filed. But the answer to this question is a bit complicated. Basically an applicant should show as little as possible as much as possible.

The only reason an applicant would show data about the application is when the applicant is attempting to interest a person or firm to license or assign the rights to the patent, once the application is granted. The prospective licensee might also choose to “buy the whole application” when, for example, the company or person wants the applied for invention to be kept secret. You can find many useful tips on internet, but hiring professionals like Invent Help, to help you out would be wise.

Because the applicant has no right to exclude, at the application stage, the applicant must be wary of exposing too much of the invention. For example, an applicant should only show the written description of the invention, and not the claims. It is the claims that describes the “meets and bounds” of the property right that will be granted if the application is issued as a patent.

Withholding the claims will frustrate someone’s efforts to design around the patent you might end up getting. Also, hide or black out the dates and any signatures of witnesses. If you show copies of your inventor’s notebook, likewise black out the names and dates of witnesses, this prevents someone from claiming that their idea predates your idea. Be particularly careful with a provisional, as there are no claims, the person reading the provisional might be able to make something you won’t claim in the utility that replaces the provisional.

Also, only show as much as is necessary to achieve your goal. For example, perhaps the claimed invention has three embodiments of a new display device: a computer monitor, an portable display for a cell phone, and a television. If the applicant were trying to license the computer monitor to a computer manufacturer, then only the parts of the specification relating to the computer monitor should be shown to prospective licensees as you can read from https://azbigmedia.com/business/why-new-inventors-turn-to-inventhelp-for-support/ article.