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I am developing a product idea similar to another product on the market, and see that this product has a "patent pending" status. In my research, I see that the competing patent lists:
"Patent Pending, U.S. SN 61/705,026"
However, I cannot find any information on this patent reference number after doing extensive research.
Is this patent application not published?
By starting with 61 it is identifiable as the serial number/application number of a provisional patent application. They are not published but will be accessible if a non-provisional application is published or issued as a patent and claims the benefit of that provisional application. It is allowed to mark something "patent pending" when a provisional is pending. Including the number is not necessary and takes away a little of the mystery.
