Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your United States Patent And Trademark Office shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the United States Patent And Trademark Office offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of United States Patent And Trademark Office at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a United States Patent And Trademark Office? Wrong! If the United States Patent And Trademark Office is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about United States Patent And Trademark Office then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling United States Patent And Trademark Office? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about United States Patent And Trademark Office and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your United States Patent And Trademark Office wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your United States Patent And Trademark Office then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the United States Patent And Trademark Office site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about United States Patent And Trademark Office, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your United States Patent And Trademark Office, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
The
United States Patent and Trademark Office (
PTO or
USPTO) is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that provides
patent protection to
inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and
intellectual property identification.
The USPTO is currently based in Alexandria, Virginia, after a 2006 move from the Crystal City, Virginia area of
Arlington County, Virginia. Since 1991, the office has been fully funded by fees charged for processing patents and trademarks. The current head of the USPTO is Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property
Jon Dudas, who was nominated to the position by President George W. Bush in March 2004 and was then appointed on July 30, 2004.The USPTO cooperates with the
European Patent Office (EPO) and the
Japan Patent Office (JPO) pursuant to
Trilateral Offices. The USPTO is also a Receiving Office, an International Searching Authority and an International Preliminary Examination Authority for international patent applications filed in accordance with the Patent Cooperation Treaty.
Mission
The mission of the PTO is to promote "industrial and technological progress in the
United States and strengthen the national economy" by:
- administering the laws relating to patents and trademarks;
- advising the United States Secretary of Commerce, the President of the United States, and the administration on patent, trademark, and copyright protection; and
- providing advice on the trade-related aspects of intellectual property.
Structure
At the end of 2006, the PTO had 8,189 employees, nearly all of whom are based at its huge five-building headquarters complex in Alexandria. Of those, 4,883 were patent examiners and 413 were Trademark attorney; the rest are support staff. USPTO Performance and Accountability Report Fiscal Year 2006 Patent examiners are generally scientists and engineers who do not necessarily hold law degrees, while all trademark examiners must be licensed attorneys. All examiners work under a strict quota system.
In recent years, the USPTO has seen increasing delays between when a patent application is filed and when it issues. To address its workload challenges, the USPTO has undertaken an aggressive program of hiring and recruitment. In Fiscal Year 2006 (year ending September 30, 2006), the USPTO hired 1,193 new patent examiners. USPTO Annual Report 2006, Patent Performance The USPTO expects to continue hiring patent examiners at a rate of 1,200 per year from 2007 through 2012.
In 2006, USPTO also instituted a new training program for patent examiners called the "Patent Examiner Training Academy." It is an eight-month program designed to teach new patent examiners the fundamentals of patent law, practice and examination procedure in a college-style environment. USPTO Annual Report 2006, The Nature of the Training Provided to USPTO Examiners.
Fee diversion
Each year,
United States Congress "diverts" about 10% of the fees that the USPTO has collected into the general treasury of the United States. In effect, this takes monies collected from the patent system to use for the general budget. This fee diversion is generally opposed by patent practitioners (e.g patent attorneys and patent attorneys),
inventors, and the USPTO.{{cite press release |publisher=United States Patent and Trademark Office
|date=February 2, 2004 |url=http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/speeches/04-03.htm
|format=
|title= President's proposed budget ends USPTO fee diversion in FY 2005 |accessdate=2006-11-24
--> These stakeholders would rather use the funds to improve the patent office and patent system, such as by implementing the USPTO's 21st Century Strategic Plan.{{cite web
| url = http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/strat21/| title = Strategic Plan for the 21st Century| accessdate = 2006-11-24| date = February 24, 2006| publisher = United States Patent and Trademark Office-->
Patents
- The X-Patents (the first 10,000 issued between 1790 and 1836) were destroyed by a fire; less than 3,000 of those have been recovered and re-issued with numbers that include an "X". The X is generally at the end of the number, except for the first patent which has the X at the beginning of the number. The X distinguishes the patents from those issued after the fire.
- On July 31, 1790, the USPTO awarded its first patent to Samuel Hopkins (inventor) for an improvement "in the making of Potash and potassium carbonate by a new Apparatus and Process." This patent was signed by then president George Washington.
Trademarks
The USPTO examines applications for
trademark registration. If approved, the trademarks are registered on either the Principal Register or the
Supplemental Register, depending upon whether the mark meets the appropriate distinctiveness criteria.
Representation
The PTO only allows certain qualified persons to practice before the PTO.
Practice includes filing of patent applications on behalf of inventors, prosecuting patent applications on behalf of inventors, and participating in administrative appeals and other proceedings before the PTO examiners and boards. The PTO sets its own standards for who may practice and requires that any person who practices become registered. A USPTO-registered non-attorney professional is called a patent attorney and an USPTO-registered attorney is called a
patent attorney.
In order to become registered to practice before the USPTO, an applicant must demonstrate to the USPTO's satisfaction certain scientific and technical competencies (such as having a science or engineering degree) and then pass a difficult USPTO-administered patent bar exam called the
USPTO registration examination. This bar exam covers the voluminous regulations and procedures that govern USPTO practice. The registration process is managed by the USPTO's Office of Enrollment & Discipline (OED).{{cite web] patent filing. The inventor is not required to be represented by a registered patent attorney or patent agent. If it appears to a patent examiner that an inventor filing a pro se application is not familiar with the proper procedures of the patent office, the examiner may suggest that it would be desirable for the inventor to obtain representation by a licensed patent attorney or agent.
Manual of Patent Examining Procedure, Chapter 400 The patent examiner cannot recommend a patent attorney or agent, but the patent office does post a list of registered attorneys or agents. List of registered attorneys or agents.
It is not uncommon for individual inventors to file their own patents to potentially save thousands of dollars in agent/attorneys fees, since legal fees for the preparation and filing of a US patent application can run more than US$20,000. While an inventor of a relatively simple-to-describe invention may well be able to produce an adequate specification and accompanying drawings for a utility application, the complexity lies in what is claimed, either in the particular claim language of a utility application, or in the manner in which drawings are presented in a design application. Moreover, failure to adequately respond to an office action from the USPTO can endanger the inventor's rights, and may lead to abandonment of the application.
Patent agents can only act in a representative capacity in patent matters at the USPTO, and cannot represent an applicant for a trademark. Trademark applicants may be represented by any state bar licensed attorney sufficiently capable of handling trademark matters, governed by the rules of professional responsibility. There is no analogous "trademark agent" exam.
Electronic filing system
The USPTO will accept patent applications filed in electronic form. As of March 2006, inventors or their patent agents/attorneys can file applications as Portable Document Format documents. The web page for submitting applications is https://sportal.uspto.gov/secure/portal/efs-unregistered. Filing fees can be paid by credit card or by a USPTO “deposit account”.
Electronic retrieval system
The USPTO web site provides free electronic copies of issued patents and patent applications as single-page TIFF documents. The site also provides rudimentary search and analysis tools.
The USPTO's free distribution service only distributes the patent documents as a set of single page files. Numerous commercial services provide patent documents in other formats, such as
PDF and CPC.
Criticisms
Controversial patents
In November 2005, the USPTO was criticized by physicists for granting for an
anti-gravity device. The journal
Nature (journal) first highlighted this patent issued for a device that presumably amounts to a
perpetual motion machine, defying the laws of physics.{{cite news| author = United Press International
| title = Patent issued for anti-gravity device | url = http://www.physorg.com/news8042.html
| publisher = Phyorg.com | date = 2005 | accessdate = 2006-11-24
-->{{cite news| author = Brian Handwerk | title = Antigravity Machine Patent Draws Physicists' Ire
| url = http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/11/1111_051111_junk_patent.html
| publisher = National Geographic News | date = November 11, 2005 | accessdate = 2006-11-24
-->An untraceable link was also included here as an additional reference. The device comprises a particular electrically superconductivity shield and elecromagnetic generating device. The examiner allowed the claims because the design of the shield and device was novel and not obvious.{{cite web| url = http://portal.uspto.gov/external/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_CH/.cmd/ad/.ar/sa.getBib/.ps/N/.c/6_0_69/.ce/7_0_3AB/.p/5_0_341/.d/2?selectedTab=ifwtab&isSubmitted=isSubmitted&dosnum=11079670#7_0_3AB| title = Notice of Allowance and Fees Due (PTOL-85)| accessdate = 2006-11-24| author = Ramon M Barrera (examiner)| date = June 7, 2005| format = PDF| work = 11/079,670 Space Vehicle Propelled by the Pressure of Inflationary Vacuum State| publisher = United States Patent and Trademark Office| pages = 2-->
Note: Navigate to the 'Image File Wrapper' to find the file; download and open with a PDF reader. The specific passage from the document follows: "The following is an examiner's statement of reasons for allowance: None of the prior art of record taught or disclosed the claimed superconducting shield and electromagnetic field generating means structure." In situations such as this where a substantial question of
patentability is raised after a patent issues, the Commissioner of the Patent Office can order a
reexamination of the patent.
, "Method of exercising a cat", which covers having a cat chase the beam from a laser pointer, is widely criticised as being obvious.
, "
Sealed crustless sandwich", approved in 1999, which covers the design of a sandwich with crimped edges.
Slow patent examination
The USPTO has been criticized for taking an inordinate amount of time in examining patent applications. This is particularly true in the fast growing area of
business method patents. As of 2005, patent examiners in the business method area were still examining patent applications filed in
2001.
The delay has been attributed by spokesmen for the Patent Office to a combination of a sudden increase in business method patent filings after the 1998
State Street Bank & Trust Company v. Signature Financial Group, Inc., the unfamiliarity of patent examiners with the business and financial arts (e.g. banking, insurance, stock trading etc.), and the issuance of a number of controversial patents (e.g. "1-Click") in the business method area.
Effective in August 2006, the USPTO introduced an Petition to make special in an effort to allow inventors a speedy evaluation of an application with a final disposition within 12 months. The procedure requires additional information to be submitted with the application and also includes an interview with the examiner. USPTO Accelerated Patent Examination The first accelerated patent was granted on March 15, 2007 with a 6 month issuance time. Press Release: USPTO GRANTS FIRST PATENT UNDER NEW ACCELERATED REVIEW OPTION
See also
References and notes
External links
- USPTO
- Main page
- Searches
- Office of Enrollment & Discipline (OED)
- Patent and Trademark Depository Library Program
- Stopfakes.gov Small Business Resources
The
United States Patent and Trademark Office (
PTO or
USPTO) is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that provides patent protection to
inventors and businesses for their inventions, and
trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification.
The USPTO is currently based in
Alexandria, Virginia, after a 2006 move from the
Crystal City, Virginia area of Arlington County, Virginia. Since 1991, the office has been fully funded by fees charged for processing patents and trademarks. The current head of the USPTO is Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property Jon Dudas, who was nominated to the position by President George W. Bush in March 2004 and was then appointed on July 30,
2004.The USPTO cooperates with the
European Patent Office (EPO) and the
Japan Patent Office (JPO) pursuant to
Trilateral Offices. The USPTO is also a Receiving Office, an International Searching Authority and an International Preliminary Examination Authority for international patent applications filed in accordance with the Patent Cooperation Treaty.
Mission
The mission of the PTO is to promote "industrial and technological progress in the United States and strengthen the national economy" by:
- administering the laws relating to patents and trademarks;
- advising the United States Secretary of Commerce, the President of the United States, and the administration on patent, trademark, and copyright protection; and
- providing advice on the trade-related aspects of intellectual property.
Structure
At the end of 2006, the PTO had 8,189 employees, nearly all of whom are based at its huge five-building headquarters complex in Alexandria. Of those, 4,883 were patent examiners and 413 were Trademark attorney; the rest are support staff. USPTO Performance and Accountability Report Fiscal Year 2006 Patent examiners are generally scientists and engineers who do not necessarily hold law degrees, while all trademark examiners must be licensed attorneys. All examiners work under a strict quota system.
In recent years, the USPTO has seen increasing delays between when a patent application is filed and when it issues. To address its workload challenges, the USPTO has undertaken an aggressive program of hiring and recruitment. In Fiscal Year 2006 (year ending September 30, 2006), the USPTO hired 1,193 new patent examiners. USPTO Annual Report 2006, Patent Performance The USPTO expects to continue hiring patent examiners at a rate of 1,200 per year from 2007 through 2012.
In 2006, USPTO also instituted a new training program for patent examiners called the "Patent Examiner Training Academy." It is an eight-month program designed to teach new patent examiners the fundamentals of patent law, practice and examination procedure in a college-style environment. USPTO Annual Report 2006, The Nature of the Training Provided to USPTO Examiners.
Fee diversion
Each year,
United States Congress "diverts" about 10% of the fees that the USPTO has collected into the general treasury of the United States. In effect, this takes monies collected from the patent system to use for the general budget. This fee diversion is generally opposed by patent practitioners (e.g patent attorneys and
patent attorneys), inventors, and the USPTO.{{cite press release |publisher=United States Patent and Trademark Office
|date=February 2, 2004 |url=http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/speeches/04-03.htm
|format=
|title= President's proposed budget ends USPTO fee diversion in FY 2005 |accessdate=2006-11-24
--> These stakeholders would rather use the funds to improve the patent office and patent system, such as by implementing the USPTO's 21st Century Strategic Plan.{{cite web
| url = http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/strat21/| title = Strategic Plan for the 21st Century| accessdate = 2006-11-24| date = February 24, 2006| publisher = United States Patent and Trademark Office-->
Patents
- The X-Patents (the first 10,000 issued between 1790 and 1836) were destroyed by a fire; less than 3,000 of those have been recovered and re-issued with numbers that include an "X". The X is generally at the end of the number, except for the first patent which has the X at the beginning of the number. The X distinguishes the patents from those issued after the fire.
- On July 31, 1790, the USPTO awarded its first patent to Samuel Hopkins (inventor) for an improvement "in the making of Potash and potassium carbonate by a new Apparatus and Process." This patent was signed by then president George Washington.
Trademarks
The USPTO examines applications for trademark registration. If approved, the trademarks are registered on either the
Principal Register or the
Supplemental Register, depending upon whether the mark meets the appropriate distinctiveness criteria.
Representation
The PTO only allows certain qualified persons to practice before the PTO.
Practice includes filing of patent applications on behalf of inventors, prosecuting patent applications on behalf of inventors, and participating in administrative appeals and other proceedings before the PTO examiners and boards. The PTO sets its own standards for who may practice and requires that any person who practices become registered. A USPTO-registered non-attorney professional is called a
patent attorney and an USPTO-registered attorney is called a
patent attorney.
In order to become registered to practice before the USPTO, an applicant must demonstrate to the USPTO's satisfaction certain scientific and technical competencies (such as having a science or engineering degree) and then pass a difficult USPTO-administered patent bar exam called the USPTO registration examination. This bar exam covers the voluminous regulations and procedures that govern USPTO practice. The registration process is managed by the USPTO's Office of Enrollment & Discipline (OED).{{cite web] patent filing. The inventor is not required to be represented by a registered patent attorney or patent agent. If it appears to a patent examiner that an inventor filing a pro se application is not familiar with the proper procedures of the patent office, the examiner may suggest that it would be desirable for the inventor to obtain representation by a licensed patent attorney or agent.
Manual of Patent Examining Procedure, Chapter 400 The patent examiner cannot recommend a patent attorney or agent, but the patent office does post a list of registered attorneys or agents. List of registered attorneys or agents.
It is not uncommon for individual inventors to file their own patents to potentially save thousands of dollars in agent/attorneys fees, since legal fees for the preparation and filing of a US patent application can run more than US$20,000. While an inventor of a relatively simple-to-describe invention may well be able to produce an adequate specification and accompanying drawings for a utility application, the complexity lies in what is claimed, either in the particular claim language of a utility application, or in the manner in which drawings are presented in a design application. Moreover, failure to adequately respond to an office action from the USPTO can endanger the inventor's rights, and may lead to abandonment of the application.
Patent agents can only act in a representative capacity in patent matters at the USPTO, and cannot represent an applicant for a trademark. Trademark applicants may be represented by any state bar licensed attorney sufficiently capable of handling trademark matters, governed by the rules of professional responsibility. There is no analogous "trademark agent" exam.
Electronic filing system
The USPTO will accept patent applications filed in electronic form. As of March 2006, inventors or their patent agents/attorneys can file applications as Portable Document Format documents. The web page for submitting applications is https://sportal.uspto.gov/secure/portal/efs-unregistered. Filing fees can be paid by credit card or by a USPTO “deposit account”.
Electronic retrieval system
The USPTO web site provides free electronic copies of issued patents and patent applications as single-page
TIFF documents. The site also provides rudimentary search and analysis tools.
The USPTO's free distribution service only distributes the patent documents as a set of single page files. Numerous commercial services provide patent documents in other formats, such as
PDF and CPC.
Criticisms
Controversial patents
In November 2005, the USPTO was criticized by physicists for granting for an anti-gravity device. The journal
Nature (journal) first highlighted this patent issued for a device that presumably amounts to a
perpetual motion machine, defying the laws of physics.{{cite news| author = United Press International
| title = Patent issued for anti-gravity device | url = http://www.physorg.com/news8042.html
| publisher = Phyorg.com | date = 2005 | accessdate = 2006-11-24
-->{{cite news| author = Brian Handwerk | title = Antigravity Machine Patent Draws Physicists' Ire
| url = http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/11/1111_051111_junk_patent.html
| publisher = National Geographic News | date = November 11, 2005 | accessdate = 2006-11-24
-->An untraceable link was also included here as an additional reference. The device comprises a particular electrically superconductivity shield and elecromagnetic generating device. The examiner allowed the claims because the design of the shield and device was novel and not obvious.{{cite web| url = http://portal.uspto.gov/external/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_CH/.cmd/ad/.ar/sa.getBib/.ps/N/.c/6_0_69/.ce/7_0_3AB/.p/5_0_341/.d/2?selectedTab=ifwtab&isSubmitted=isSubmitted&dosnum=11079670#7_0_3AB| title = Notice of Allowance and Fees Due (PTOL-85)| accessdate = 2006-11-24| author = Ramon M Barrera (examiner)| date = June 7, 2005| format = PDF| work = 11/079,670 Space Vehicle Propelled by the Pressure of Inflationary Vacuum State| publisher = United States Patent and Trademark Office| pages = 2-->
Note: Navigate to the 'Image File Wrapper' to find the file; download and open with a PDF reader. The specific passage from the document follows: "The following is an examiner's statement of reasons for allowance: None of the prior art of record taught or disclosed the claimed superconducting shield and electromagnetic field generating means structure." In situations such as this where a substantial question of
patentability is raised after a patent issues, the Commissioner of the Patent Office can order a reexamination of the patent.
, "
Method of exercising a cat", which covers having a cat chase the beam from a laser pointer, is widely criticised as being obvious.
, "Sealed crustless sandwich", approved in 1999, which covers the design of a sandwich with crimped edges.
Slow patent examination
The USPTO has been criticized for taking an inordinate amount of time in examining patent applications. This is particularly true in the fast growing area of
business method patents. As of 2005, patent examiners in the business method area were still examining patent applications filed in 2001.
The delay has been attributed by spokesmen for the Patent Office to a combination of a sudden increase in business method patent filings after the 1998
State Street Bank & Trust Company v. Signature Financial Group, Inc., the unfamiliarity of patent examiners with the business and financial arts (e.g. banking, insurance, stock trading etc.), and the issuance of a number of controversial patents (e.g. "
1-Click") in the business method area.
Effective in August 2006, the USPTO introduced an Petition to make special in an effort to allow inventors a speedy evaluation of an application with a final disposition within 12 months. The procedure requires additional information to be submitted with the application and also includes an interview with the examiner. USPTO Accelerated Patent Examination The first accelerated patent was granted on March 15, 2007 with a 6 month issuance time. Press Release: USPTO GRANTS FIRST PATENT UNDER NEW ACCELERATED REVIEW OPTION
See also
References and notes
External links
- USPTO
- Main page
- Searches
- Office of Enrollment & Discipline (OED)
- Patent and Trademark Depository Library Program
- Stopfakes.gov Small Business Resources
United States Patent and Trademark Office Home Page
United States Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) patent databases - includes AIDS patents.
United States Patent and Trademark Office - Wikipedia, the free ...
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO or USPTO) is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their ...
United States Patent and Trademark Office Home Page
United States Patent and Trademark Office An Agency Of The United States Department Of Commerce
U.S. Chamber of Commerce - Issues Index: United States Patent and ...
Support full funding for the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Patent Prosecution Highway Pilot Program between the United States ...
Patent Prosecution Highway Pilot Program between the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Subjects covered United States patents Contains Abstracts from 1790 to 1975, and full text of records from the United States ...
Patent and Trademark Office - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Patent and Trademark Office may refer to. the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA) any other patent office also ...
United States Patent and Trademark Office - What does USPTO stand for ...
Acronym Definition; USPTO: United States Patent and Trademark Office: USPTO: Us Patent and Trademark Office
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
Mailed: Paper No. 46 June 30, 2003 GFR UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE _____ Trademark Trial and Appeal Board _____ The NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. v. Antartica, S.r.l ...
IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
in the united states patent and trademark office patent no. : 6,614,729 issued: september 2, 2003 for: system and method of creating digital recordings of live performances ...
