Agency history

Seal and ribbon detail on a vintage patent cover

Historical innovators

Three fashionably dressed white women surrounding a desk, posing and admiring posters of Page Boy store fronts

History initiatives

Black and white photos of Henry Baker and George Washington Murray, two African American men wearing suits and ties, with a handwritten list of inventors and their patents in the background
A lawyer, assistant patent examiner, and civil rights activist, Henry E. Baker spent over three decades compiling his
The report pinpoints women inventor-patentees across U.S. counties, and examines growth over the 1990-2019 period to better understand
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today officially issued U.S. patent number 11 million, recognizing an
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Maude Adams wearing a tunic, skirt, sash, and beads stands at three-quarters profile, framed by trees in the background, and looks off to the right.
Featured story
Read about inventor and actress Maude Adams during Pride Month
An older African American man in a suit jacket speaks during an interview
Video
Watch the special documentary short on a Baker's list inventor
Drawing of a mobile stair device being used to put out a fire in a multi-story building
Director’s Blog
Help us search for the lost “X-patents”
Black and white photo of a man in a dress shirt and tie searching through hand-written records in a row of shelves
Research
Discover historic patents and trademarks at a library near you
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