Patent pending does not always mean that the patent will go through. You may see this often on products that you buy. Simply this means that the product has been submitted and is awaiting approval on the patent. Companies have the right to still sell the product even though they do not have this approval. Sure there can be some risks. One risk would be is that the application is denied because the product is too close or similar to another patent. Or they may have failed to complete the necessary requirements in order to gain approval.

Is it unsafe to buy that product? Not necessarily. However depending on the type of product you may want to consider if there could be some risks like with child safety items, etc. However it is a common practice, to start selling something before the product is patent approved. The patent application to approval process can take years.

Sometimes products can be time sensitive as far as how long their stay on the market can or will last. This can happen for a ton of reasons. One reason may be that there are so many advances in technology that newer versions or better versions show up constantly.

Sometimes inventors have to get a product to market quickly once invented. That is why you may see on a product that the patent is pending. Why wait for it to happen, rather that company has the confidence that their product is unique and will be approved. This method may not be for everybody though. You would really need to be careful for proceeding this way. If you end up breaking someone else patent you could end up with a huge legal fight on your hands.

So the need to wait or not really depends on the confidence of that person that their patent pending product will be safe on the market before approval. Huge legal battles have ensued do to this type of thing, someone risky selling something without doing their due diligence.

So you have finally made it, you have sent in your application to have your invention scrutinized by the US government in hopes that they will think it is good and original enough to receive a patent. So what do you do while you wait? The wait can sometimes take years depending on the type of patent, how many times you have had to resubmit, and so on.

Well, you could go ahead and market your product under the label patent pending. The risk here would certainly be up to you as to how you would want to handle it. Sure if you get your patent then you will be OK, but if you do not you may be putting your product out there with not a lot of protection.

Different countries vary on how they handle patent pending type products. You should really consider reviewing all the laws regarding this in your area. It could be very important understanding everything before you make a decision as to how you will move forward. Also, if you plan on selling a product similar to a product that has a patent pending label, you may want to brush up on the laws as well.