In most cases, the USPTO publishes pending patent applications 18 months after the initial filing date. There are several tools the public can use to view published pending patent applications and to stay updated as applications move through the examination process.
The USPTO’s Pre-Grant Publication (PG-PUB) system updates newly published applications every Thursday through Patent Public Search. The Pre-Grant Publication database includes documents related to patent applications, including:
- Those which have not yet been assigned to an examiner,
- Those which have been assigned and are under active prosecution,
- Cases which have been allowed and issued a patent,
- Applications that have been abandoned.
Patent Center offers additional information on the status of all patent applications, published or issued, as well as associated documentation and communication between patent applicants and the assigned examiner.
To see applications for patents on new plants, traits, and non-transgenic breeding methods, classified by crop type, click a hyperlink from the sample list below:
*Note: The link will open two separate windows to Patent Public Search. It may take a few minutes for the search results to load.
Sample Queries for Selected Crops
These searches were developed using Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) terms. If you would like to see another crop added to this list, please contact the Farmer Seed Liaison at seedliaison@usda.gov.
To find other crop types and explore other CPC subclasses related to plant breeding, see USPTO’s Classification Resources.
To understand how to develop search queries using CPC terms, such as the ones listed above, see Patent Public Search– setting up external searches