Patent Statuses - An overview
What are the statuses of applications?
| Status | Description |
|---|---|
| Abandoned | Applied when the PTO delivers a legal event code stating the application has been abandoned. |
| Ceased | Used for applications that are refused / terminated before grant or rejected. |
| Expired - Lifetime | Generally reserved for granted / issued / registered records in CLAIMS Direct. This status is normally used for applications that have passed their full patent term. |
| Granted | Triggered by granting legal event or delivery of publication of a grant / issue / registration in Gazette or PTO journals as well as the availability of the respective granted document in CLAIMS Direct. |
| Pending | Applied upon publication of a filed application. |
| Revoked | Generally reserved for granted / issued / registered records in CLAIMS Direct, this status is sometimes used for records that were granted and then terminated (e.g. after invalidataion or appeal proceedings). |
| Withdrawn | Applied when an applicant chooses to discontinue prosecuting an application and the PTO delivers a legal event code stating the application is withdrawn. |
| Withdrawn - After Issue | Generally reserved for granted / issued / registered records. This status is triggered when a legal event code is received from the PTO indicating an applicant has chosen to terminate / withdraw the granted record. |
What are the statuses of granted patents?
| Status | Description |
|---|---|
| Active | Triggered by publication of the granted / issued / registered record. This status is maintained until there is a subsequent legal event code that changes it to inactive / expired. |
| Active - Reinstated | Applied when an ofifce delivers a legal event code indicating that the IP right has been reinstated. |
| Expired - Fee Related | Applied when an annuity or maintenance fee payment is missed. |
| Expired | Used for events similar to those with a status "Ceased", including non-payment of annuities, but occurs more frequently in CLAIMS Direct. The generic "Expired" indicator is used for all patents published before 1990, regardless of whether an expiration date has been calculated for them and regardless of prior legal status events such as fee-related expirations, withdrawals, revocations, etc. |
| Expired - Lifetime | Applied when all fees have been paid, the grant was in-force for the entire patent or utility model term, and the grant has exceeded its term limit. |
| Ceased | Applied when an office delivers a legal event code that terminates an IP right before the patent term ends, e.g. in AU termination according to Section 143(A) where applicant does not pay the required fee or fails to submit the required documents. In CN, "Ceased" is most often used for termination due to invalidation. Refusals, rejections and nullifications can also trigger a status of "Ceased". |
| Withdrawn - After Issue | Applied when the PTO delivers a legal event code indicating that the applicant has withdrawn the granted patent. This usually occurs to avoid double patenting. |
| In-force (designated stated only) | Used for EP records when an EP designated country remains in-force. Used only for EP designated countries within an EP record. See new IFI patent status for EP for examples. |
| Not-in-force (designated stated only) | Used for EP records when no EP designated country remains in-force. Used only for EP designated countries within an EP record. See new IFI patent status for EP for examples. |
| Revoked | Applied when an office terminates a patent, often after invalidation or appeal proceedings and the delivery of a legal status event informing of the revocation. Annulments or renunciations can also trigger a status change to "revoked". |
Updated on: 31/05/2023
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