Patent pending an offense, which permits theoretical damages in the hundreds of millions of dollars for high-volume consumer goods. The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act revised section 292 to say that only the United States may sue for that penalty but that a person who has suffered a competitive injury may sue for recovery of damages adequate to compensate for the injury. A provisional application, like any other patent application, also allows the applicant to use the term "patent pending". Numerous characters have assumed the name Pat Pending since at least the 1960s, notably Professor Pat Pending of cartoon series Wacky Races; the
The Man in Room 17 Spindoe (Ray McAnally), who eventually ended up behind bars thanks, unknown to Spindoe, to psychological pressure from Oldenshaw. The Spindoe character was to return in his own series, "Spindoe" in 1968, which charted his attempts to regain his criminal empire after release from prison. An episode of The Man in Room 17 - the series 2 opener 'How to Rob Bank - And Get Away with it' was released on DVD in 2007 as a bonus feature for the complete series box set of Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased). The episode featured a guest role for R&H(D) star Mike Pratt. A