LibGuides: IP Law: Patents: USPTO

The United States Patent and Trademark Office

"The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is the federal agency for granting U.S. patents and registering trademarks. In doing this, the USPTO fulfills the mandate of Article I, Section 8, Clause 8, of the Constitution that the legislative branch "promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."

The USPTO advises the president of the United States, the secretary of commerce, and U.S. government agencies on intellectual property (IP) policy, protection, and enforcement and promotes more robust and effective IP protection worldwide. The USPTO furthers adequate IP protection for U.S. innovators and entrepreneurs worldwide by working with other agencies to secure strong IP provisions in free trade and other international agreements. It also provides training, education, and capacity-building programs designed to foster respect for IP and encourage the development of strong IP enforcement regimes by U.S. trading partners." --About-US USPTO Page

Patents are enforced and protected federally. The USPTO is responsible for the registration and maintenance of U.S. Patents while also ensuring compliance with international treaties. When studying or practicing patent law, the USPTO is the primary governmental agency you will contact. The USPTO's website is robust and full of useful articles, tips, and guides for applying for a patent, contesting a denial letter, and much more.

Further, if you are performing patent prosecution (the application for a patent) be sure to review the manual of patent examining procedure to see how exactly the reviewing attorney will be evaluation your application. The MPEP is an invaluable resource for legal research because it provides the criteria of the law, relevant cases, and statutes.

For more check out this page and scroll down to the section titled "History and functions of the USPTO

Manual of Patent examining procedure

Manual of patent examining procedure in print
Available , 3rd Floor Stacks ; KF3120.A6 P37
United States. Patent and Trademark Office.
1979
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Foreword
This Manual is published to provide U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) patent examiners, applicants, attorneys, agents, and representatives of applicants with a reference work on the practices and procedures relative to the prosecution of patent applications and other proceedings before the USPTO. For example, the Manual contains instructions to examiners, as well as other material in the nature of information and interpretation, and outlines the current procedures which the examiners are required or authorized to follow in appropriate cases in the normal examination of a patent application. The Manual does not have the force of law or the force of the rules in Title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

A separate manual entitled “Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure,” availlable at https://tmep.uspto.gov/ RDMS/TMEP/current, is published by the USPTO as a reference work for trademark cases.

Examiners will be governed by the applicable statutes, rules, decisions, and orders and instructions issued by the Director of the USPTO and other officials authorized by the Director of the USPTO.

Subsequent changes in practice and other revisions will be incorporated in the form of revisions to sections of chapters and/or to appendices of the Manual.

This Manual has been designated guidance document USPTO-P-1. The contents of this document do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in any way. This document is intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies. --USPTO.Gov

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Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (online)