United States Patent and Trademark Office

The United States Patent and Trademark Office is the organization within the United States government that examines and grants patents and trademarks. Established under the Department of Commerce on July 19, 1952[1] by 35 U.S.C. §1[2], the USPTO fulfills the mandate in Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution "to 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."[3]. Since 1790, the USPTO has issued more than 6.5 million patents[4]. The agency's main offices reside in Alexandria, Virginia, with several satellite offices around the country.

Organization

Administration

• Director and Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property: Michelle K. Lee[5]

Michelle Lee was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as the Director of the USPTO on November 11, 2014[6] and officially took the oath of office on March 12, 2015[7]. She is the first female to hold the office.[8]. Her first role within the USPTO was serving as the Director of the USPTO Silicon Valley regional office.[9]. Prior to joining the USPTO, Lee served as the Deputy General Counsel for Google[10].

• Deputy Director: Russell Slifer
• Chief of Staff: (Vacant)
• Commissioner for Patents: Drew Hirshfeld
• Commissioner for Trademarks: Mary Boney Denison
• Chief Policy Officer and Director for International Affairs: Shira Perlmutter
• Chief Administrative Officer: Frederick Steckler
• Chief Communication Officer: (Vacant)
• Chief Financial Officer: Anthony P. Scardino
• Chief Information Officer: John Owens II
• General Counsel: Sarah Harris
• Acting Deputy General Counsel for Intellectual Property Law and Solicitor: Thomas Krause
• Director of the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity: Bismark Myrick

Employment

At the end of FY 2015, the USPTO employed 12,667 individuals, which includes 9,161 patent examiners and 456 trademark examining attorneys.[11]. This number is up from 12,450 total federal employees in FY 2014[12] and 11,773 employees in FY 2013[13]. The USPTO is expected to employ around 13,500 employees for FY 2016.[14]

USPTO Employment

Fiscal Year	Total Employees	Patent Examiners	Trademark Examining Attorneys
2016	~13,500	???	???
2015	12,667	9,161	465
2014	12,450	8,611	429
2013	11,173	8,051	409
2012	11,531	7,935	386

The USPTO released its 2015-2018 People Plan, which outlines three pillars of focus for its workforce through the 2018 fiscal year.[15] The Office intends to use the three pillars of lead, engage, and enable for its strategic human capital planning, which is "the process by which an organization takes stock of how its people and people-management activities align with and support the agency’s strategic goals." Some human capital planning recommendations include diversifying and developing its workforce, connecting its employees with the core vision of the USPTO, and maximizing its internal leadership capabilities.

Regional Offices

The USPTO currently holds four regional offices in addition to its headquarters in Alexandria, VA. In 2010, the office piloted its first regional office in Detroit, MI through the Nationwide Workforce Program.[16] The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act provided for the USPTO to "establish 3 or more satellite offices in the United States to carry out the responsibilities of the Office."[17] Subsequently, the USPTO decided to expand to all time zones through offices in Denver, CO, Silicon Valley, CA, and Dallas, TX.[18]

Alexandria, VA

In 2006, the USPTO offices were consolidated in a new campus encompassing ten buildings all connected by underground walkways.[19] The location includes 70,000-square-foot mission-critical data center and the National Inventors Hall of Fame and Museum, which re-opened on May 21, 2014.[20]

Patent Database

Patent Types

[21]

Contact Information

Online Locations

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