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.
Contents
History
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
The USPTO released its 2015-2018 People Plan, which outlines three pillars of focus for its workforce through the 2018 fiscal year.[11] 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.
At the end of FY 2015, the USPTO employed 12,667 individuals, which includes 9,161 patent examiners and 456 trademark examining attorneys.[12]. This number is up from 12,450 total federal employees in FY 2014[13] and 11,773 employees in FY 2013[14]. The USPTO is expected to employ around 13,500 employees for FY 2016.[15]
| 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 |
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]
Regional offices were created with the purpose to[19]:
- (1) increase outreach activities to better connect patent filers and innovators with the Office;
- (2) enhance patent examiner retention;
- (3) improve recruitment of patent examiners;
- (4) decrease the number of patent applications waiting for examination; and
- (5) improve the quality of patent examination.
Alexandria, VA
In 2006, the USPTO offices were consolidated in a new campus encompassing ten buildings all connected by underground walkways.[20] 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.[21]
Detroit, MI
The Elijah J. McCoy United States Patent and Trademark Office[22], serves as the first regional office of the USPTO. Originally created under the National Workforce Program in 2012, the office provides services including but not limited to complete patent databases, collaborative workstations, regularly scheduled workshops, and public tours. Christal Sheppard serves as the current director of the regional office.[23] The regional office serves the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Denver, CO
The Rocky Mountain Regional Office, located in the Byron G. Rogers Federal Building in downtown Denver, has been open since June 30, 2014.[24] The office serves the states of Idaho, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas.
Silicon Valley, CA
Dallas, TX
Budget
Patent Database
Classification Numbers can be found here.
USPTO's new visual database, PatentsView, can be found here.
Google's helpful article on downloading USPTO PAIR (Patent Application Information Retrieval) data can be found here.
Patent Types
Utility Patent
Utility patents protect a "machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof"[26]
Design Patent
Design patents protect a "new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture"[27]
Plant Patent
Plant patents protect a "distinct and new variety of plant that can be asexually reproduced"[28]
Funding
The USPTO receives its operating funds through application fees, although the office must publish annal reports to Congress on its expected level of revenue and expenditure. From there, Congress appropriates a certain level of funding that the USPTO may keep form its fee collection in order to run the office. Essentially, the USPTO must request permission to keep and use the money it receives from the application fees. No additional appropriation through Congress is usually approved. The net appropriation for the past three years has been $0.
For FY 2016, the office requested $3.2 billion of allowed expenditure from its fee collections, which with funds from other income and the Operating reserve balance, is expected to fund the necessary operating budget of $3.5 billion.[29]
Reserve Fund
Section 22 of the America Invents Act (AIA) created a Patent and Trademark Fee Reserve Fund, where excess fees collected by the USPTO are to be deposited.[30] The reserve fund is meant to reduce uncertainty in financial stability for the office, especially during government shutdown. The reserve should be able to sustain the operations of the USPTO for three months of its patent operations and four-to-six months of its trademark operations. The office projects the reserve fund to hold $1.9 billion through FY 2019, which will allow the office "to propose reducing trademark fees in FY 2015."[31]
However, the USPTO must still petition Congress annually for permission to spend the money deposited in the reserve fund.
Proposed Legislation
- Innovation Protection Act
The Innovation Protection Act (H.R. 1832)[32][33], proposed by Rep. Conyers, D-MI on 4/16/15, provides for the permanent funding of the USPTO through the creation of a revolving fund. The United States Patent and Trademark Office Public Enterprise Fund would replace the current Patent and Trademark Office Appropriation Account; this public enterprise would hold all funds available for USPTO use without the Congressional appropriation requirement. The Patent and Trademark Fee Reserve Fund, created under the AIA, would be terminated after the remaining balance in the fund is transferred to the public enterprise fund.
Under H.R. 1832, the USPTO would still be required to submit an annual budget to the President, an annual report and operation plan to Congress, and an annual spending plan to the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate. The act allows the USPTO to keep and spend all of the fees it collects, even those in excess of current fiscal year projection. However, the USPTO retains its obligation to submit spending reports and budgets.
H.R. 1832 is a reintroduction of H.R. 3349 (2013) [34], the Innovation Protection Act that Rep. Conyers proposed on 10/28/2013. H.R. 3349 was referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary and subsequently died in committee. The 2013 Innovation Protection Act had 16 cosponsors (10 Democrats and 6 Republicans).
H.R. 1832 currently has 22 cosponsors (18 Democrats and 4 Republicans). Govtrack gives the bill a 5% chance of being enacted.[35] The legislation is currently in the House Judiciary Committee.
Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX18) is a cosponsor for the H.R. 1832, and was a cosponsor for H.R. 3349 (2013).[36]
- Patent Fee Integrity Act
The Patent Fee Integrity Act (S. 2146)[37], proposed by Sen. Feinstein, D-CA on 3/13/14, creates a revolving fund known as the United States Patent and Trademark Office Innovation Promotion Fund. This piece of legislation is identical to the aforementioned Innovation Protection Act through its power delegation, termination of existing USPTO accounts, and annual reports.
The bill was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee and subsequently died. S. 2146 had 4 cosponsors (1 Democrat and 3 Republicans). No reintroduction of the bill has happened during the current session.
Fee Diversion
Criticism
Contact Information
Office Locations
- Alexandria, VA:
- USPTO Madison Building
- 600 Dulany Street
- Alexandria , VA 22314
- Detroit, MI:
- 300 River Place South
- Suite 2900
- Detroit, MI 48207
