How do you know if pending patent?

Question

how do you find out if someone has invented such a item and the patend is pending

Answer 1

Check with the Patent Office - they have an online database at www.pto.gov

Answer 2

You can do a patent search either through www.google.com/patents or at the www.uspto.gov website (the patent office's website). If something is patent pending, it means you'll see the patent application, and not the issued patent.

Check out http://www.patentengineers.com

It's got some information on patents and searching for prior art that you may find useful.