The US Patent Office

The PTO or USPTO (United States Patent & Trading Office) is the agency in charge of issuing patents and trademark registration to inventors and businesses in order to identify a product or any intellectual property. The headquarters are in Alexandria, VA. This office is part of the United States Department of Commerce.

The Constitution of the United States states the base for this agency, to protect inventors and authors rights as well as discoveries. It is established as a way to promote technologiacal, scientific and industrial development as well as to promote the economy.

The structure of the agency divides into employees who are patent examiners and employees who are trademark-examining attorneys. There are more patent examiners than trademark attorneys. All trademark-examining attorneys must have a law degree. Patent agents must pass the UPSTO Registration Examination, also known as the Patent Bar. To be able to take the patent bar exam, the individual must have a degree in engineering or physical science, or its equivalent. Candidates must go through training as well. Citizens of any country can apply as long as they have the required education; however, there is reciprocity in the requirements between United States and Canada.

A Commissioner of Patents manages the Deputy Commissioner for Patent Operations, the Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy, and the Commissioner for Patent Resources and Planning. The United States Supreme Court has the last word on a patent case. It is possible to file a patent application electronically at the UPSTO webpage designated for this, which can be found at this link. Inventors or patent agents can pay the fees via credit card on this site. The main site is this one.

There has been some criticism of the agency in that it takes too long to examine patents and that it ends up granting patents to absurd inventions, or obvious/already known inventions. The UPSTO deals with three types of patents: Utility Patents, Design Patents, and Plant patents. Utility patents refer to inventions or discoveries of a new process, a product of manufacture, a machine, or a composition of matter that is useful and new. Design patents refer to new and original or ornamental designs for a product of manufacture. Plant patents refer to new variety of plants - discovered or asexually reproduced.

In addition, there is the term of Divisional Patent. This is in reference to patents that are based on a previous patent - in any of the three categories of patents - but may have extended purposes or uses. It is reserved for the inventor of the original pending patent/invention. The divisional patent must be filed during the patent pending period of the original (or parent patent) and before it is denied or accepted.

The process of patenting an invention might be a long and tedious one, and many people decide to hire an agent or company/lawyer that will do the process for them. Much information can be found at the main UPSTO webpage. In addition, more important patent information can be found at fedcirc.us.