United States patent and trademark office

Intellectual property Rights | United States patent and trademark office

Intellectual property Rights, the United States Patent and Trademark Office is a federal agency in the Department of Commerce. The United States Patent and Trademark Office occupies five interconnected buildings in Alexandria, Virginia. The office employs over 7,000 full time staff to support its major functions namely the examination, issuance of patents, examination and registration of trademarks.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has evolved into a unique government agency. Since 1991 under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1990 the agency has been fully fee funded. In the primary services the agency service includes processing patent and trademark applications and disseminating patent and trademark information.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office mission is to ensure that the intellectual property system contributes to a strong global economy, encourages investment in innovation, and fosters entrepreneurial spirit. The United States Patent and Trademark Office promotes industrial and technological progress in the United States and strengthens the national economy. The United States Patent and Trademark Office will lead the way in creating a quality-focused, highly productive, responsive organization supporting a market-driven intellectual property system for the 21st Century.

Through the issuance of patents, the United States Patent Trademark Office encourages technological advancement by providing incentives to invent, invest in, and disclose new technology worldwide. Through the registration of trademarks, the agency assists businesses in protecting their investments, promoting goods and services, and safeguarding consumers against confusion and deception in the marketplace.

By disseminating both patent and trademark information, the United States Patent and Trademark Office promotes an understanding of intellectual property protection and facilitates the development and sharing of new technologies worldwide as well copyright.

United States Patent and Trademark Office provides a free database to learn how to search patents, trademarks etc. It includes some important links such as buisness, Ebiz ALERTS, news related to intellectual property etc. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has announced the opening of the National Inventors Hall of Fame in the museum of its Alexandria, Va., campus. The Hall of Fame honors and encourages the men and women responsible for the great technological advances that make human, social and economic progress possible