A United States Defensive Publication is a published patent application

Patent application

A patent application is a request pending at a patent office for the grant of a patent for the invention described and claimed by that application. An application consists of a description of the invention , together with official forms and correspondence relating to the application...

 for which the inventor has elected not to get patent coverage. Defensive Publications were made between April 1968 and May 8, 1985. The program, called Defensive Publication Program, was replaced by the statutory invention registration program.

US Defensive Publications can be searched in the United States Patent and Trademark Office

United States Patent and Trademark Office

The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification.The USPTO is based in Alexandria, Virginia,...

's (USPTO) patent search web page. They are designated by a "T" in the publication number, the letter "T" referring to "Technical disclosure".

See also

• Defensive publication
  Defensive publication
  A defensive publication, or defensive disclosure, is an intellectual property strategy used to prevent another party from obtaining a patent on a product, apparatus or method for instance. The strategy consists in disclosing an enabling description and/or drawing of the product, apparatus or method...
  
  
• Patent caveat
  Patent caveat
  A patent caveat was a legal document filed with the United States Patent Office. Caveats were instituted by the US Patent Act of 1836, but were discontinued in 1909. A caveat was like a patent application with a description of an invention and drawings, but without claims. It was an official...
  
  
• United States Statutory Invention Registration
  United States Statutory Invention Registration
  In United States patent law, a statutory invention registration is a publication of an invention by the United States Patent and Trademark Office . The publication is made at the request of the applicant...