# Can a supplement say “patented formula”?

Source: https://claimsverified.org/claims/patented-formula/

Only with a granted patent number you can cite. False patent marking carries its own penalties, separate from advertising rules, so this is one of the few claims where the wording itself creates a distinct exposure. Remove it unless a granted patent number can be cited. Patent pending is not a patent.

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Why it fails

## The rule this runs into.

False patent marking carries its own penalties.

We file this under false regulatory and rate it high. It is enforced by FTC, USPTO, which matters because a single phrase can fail in more than one place at once: a listing suppression, an ad-account review and a warning letter are three different consequences of the same sentence.

What to say instead

## The wording that passes.

This is the rewrite an audit ships for this phrase: the strongest wording the standard allows, in the words we would hand you.

The rewrite the standard allows

Remove unless a granted patent number can be cited.

Every structure/function claim on this page still needs the FDA disclaimer wherever it appears. That requirement has [its own ruling](https://claimsverified.org/claims/fda-disclaimer/).

## Is this phrase on your listing right now?

Run one ASIN through the free check. You get the severity counts on your own copy, ruled against all 109 standards, with no sales call attached.

[Free ASIN check](https://claimsverified.org/check/)

Nearby rulings

## Other phrases in the same family.

[ HighFalse regulatory Can a supplement say “guaranteed results”? ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/guaranteed-results/)  [ CriticalFalse regulatory Can a supplement say “FDA approved”? ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/fda-approved/)  [ HighFalse regulatory Can a supplement say “FDA registered”? ](https://claimsverified.org/claims/fda-registered/)
[All 37 published rulings →](https://claimsverified.org/claims/)

**Cite us**This ruling is free to quote. Credit “Claims Verified” and link here. It is regulatory review of marketing language, not legal advice.
audit@claimsverified.org →

Say the most the rules allow. Then keep selling it, everywhere, at any spend.

Clean copy can run on every channel at once, with the lines we flagged gone, so you can push budget knowing what a reviewer can find. And it is the brand a careful shopper can believe.