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The patent status stored in the ifi-integrated-content container is created and maintained to display the latest recorded status, which affects whether the patent is still in force or, in the case of applications, whether the application is pending, granted, or inactive. In creating this status indicator, we track the sequence of legal status events reported to the EPO from the national offices and delivered in the INPADOC file and map them to a distinct set of values. For China, we also receive legal status information from our Chinese data source. IFI's patent status indicator is a useful estimate but should not be considered authoritative. An attorney or the relevant patent office should be consulted for an authoritative expiration and status determination.
Possible Values for Published Applications (publication-type A: Application and U: Unknown)
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| Status | Description |
|---|---|
| Granted | Triggered by a granting legal event or delivery of publication of a Grant/Issue/Registration in a Gazette or PTO Journal as well as the availability of the respective granted document in CLAIMS Direct. |
| Pending | Applied upon publication of a filed application. Note: An application can remain pending past its viable lifetime if no subsequent legal event code is delivered that would grant or terminate the application. We err on the side of caution and do not set a pending document to another status unless a legal event code is delivered. Therefore, in records with a filing date over 20 years old, the "Pending" status may simply indicate that we have not received any information from the patent authorities which allows us to infer the status of the record. |
| Withdrawn | Applied when an applicant chooses to discontinue prosecuting an application and the PTO delivers a legal event code stating the application is withdrawn. |
| Abandoned | Applied when the PTO delivers a legal event code stating the application has been abandoned. |
| Ceased | Used for applications that are “Refused” (e.g., DE), "Terminated Before Grant" (e.g., GB), or "Rejected" (e.g., DE). |
| Expired - Lifetime | Generally reserved for Granted/Issued/Registered records in CLAIMS Direct, this status is sometimes used for applications that have passed their full patent term. |
| 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 invalidation or appeal proceedings). |
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. This usually occurs to avoid double patenting. |
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