Upon receiving a patent the person producing the product may mark the product “patented”, thereby giving notice of same to the public. Patentees and persons who make, offer for sale, or sell within the U.S. any patented article, or import any patented article into the U.S. (for themselves or for their associates) may give notice to the public that the same is patented, either by fixing thereon the word “patent” or the abbreviation “pat.”, together with the patent number.