Does the Patent Office publish patent applications?
Applications for utility patents are published 18 months after filing. Design patents are not published. The United States law provides for a reasonable royalty to the infringed patent holder during the period commencing on the date of publication of application and ending with the issuance of a patent. No royalties are awarded, if after the publication, the claims have undergone significant changes. The application can be published earlier than eighteen months, at the request of the applicant. The applicant may request not to publish the application, upon assuring the Patent Office that the application will not be filed in another country or within a multilateral international agreement that requires a publication after eighteen months after filing.
