What is the difference between an issued patent and a published patent?

The difference between an issued patent and a published patent in Kansas is based on the stage of the patent process that the patent is in. An issued patent is one that has been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) after the inventor(s) applied for the patent and successfully satisfied all of the requirements for patentability. This means that the invention is now legally protected and the inventor(s) holds exclusive rights to make, use, and sell the invention. A published patent is a patent that has been filed by the USPTO and is pending a decision. This means that the application has been found to be novel, useful, and non-obvious and is now published for the public to view and use for comparison to other inventions. During this stage, the patent is open to public comment. If the USPTO finds that the invention is not patentable, it will not be granted and instead, will be published. In short, the main difference between an issued patent and a published patent in Kansas is that the former is legally protected, while the latter is still in the process of being considered for issuance.

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