Technology marketed with patent pending protection has limitations with respect to valuation

Patent pending only means a provisional patent application has been filed. Provisional patent applications have their limitations, according to Richard Mark Blank, a patent attorney in New York City:

1. Provisional patent applications are not examined on their merits; they give no indication as to the eventual patentability of the invention;
2. Provisional patent applications may not be filed for design patents;
3. A provisional patent application automatically expires (is deemed abandoned) after 12 months, if not followed up by one of two events:
   1. “a corresponding non-provisional patent application for patent entitled to a filing date is filed that claims the benefit of the earlier filed provisional patent application; or
   2. “a grantable petition under 37 CFR 1.53(c)(3) to convert the provisional patent application into a non-provisional patent application is filed.”