What is the difference between an issued patent and a published patent?
The difference between an issued patent and a published patent has to do with the stage in the patent process that each one is at. An issued patent is one that has gone through the entire patent process and has been granted, or issued, by the governmental agency responsible for reviewing and approving patents. This means that the patent holder has all the rights that go along with the patent and can now enforce those rights. A published patent, on the other hand, is still at the beginning of the patent process and has not yet been granted by the government. This patent is published in a formal document—called a patent application—which is publicly available for anyone to see. It is then reviewed and evaluated by the United States Patent and Trademark Office or USPTO to determine whether it meets all the criteria to be granted. If the patent is approved, it is officially issued and the patent holder can begin enforcing their rights. In Florida, patents must go through the USPTO in order to be issued. Once an application has gone through the review process and it has been determined to meet all the criteria, the patent will then be issued. Until that point, it is simply a published patent.
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