The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is the agency responsible for granting United States patents. Under U.S. law, different types of patents are available for different inventions. Utility patents are the most common and are granted for new and useful processes, machines, compositions of matter, and new and useful improvements of any of these.
A patent grant confers on the owner “the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling” the invention in the United States or “importing” the invention into the United States. It does not entitle the owner to make, use, offer for sale, sell, or import; it only excludes others from doing so, without the owner’s authorization.
The term of a utility patent is 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the United States or, under certain circumstances, from the date an earlier related application was filed, subject to the payment of maintenance fees. U.S. patent grants are effective only within the United States, U.S. territories, and U.S. possessions. Patent term extensions or adjustments are also available under U.S. law, subject to applicable conditions.
The USPTO also grants patents for ornamental designs and certain asexually reproduced plants. More information on these forms of protection can be found on the industrial designs webpage and the plant and plant variety protection webpage.
For information about how to apply for a patent, see the USPTO’s patent process overview webpage.
Treaties
Patent Cooperation Treaty
The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), which is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), streamlines the international patent system by allowing inventors to obtain patent protection in over 158 contracting states through the filing of a single international application. The PCT is part of a comprehensive, WIPO-administered global intellectual property rights filing and registration regime, along with the Hague system for industrial designs and the Madrid system for trademarks.
In addition to providing inventors with a simplified and cost-effective mechanism for obtaining global patent protection, the PCT system also promotes patent examination collaboration and assistance among contracting state patent offices and the development of a worldwide database of new technologies and related information.
The PCT system has several bodies responsible for its functioning, under the auspices of the PCT Assembly:
- The PCT Working Group, established in 2007, undertakes technical work, such as proposals for amendments to the PCT Regulations, necessary for the system to operate effectively;
- The PCT Committee for Technical Cooperation, provides advice and recommendations to the PCT Union Assembly on various matters relating to International Searching Authorities (ISAs) and International Preliminary Examining Authorities (IPEAs), including their appointment; and
- The Meeting of International Authorities, which convenes the patent offices designated under the treaty as responsible for conducting key search and examination work.
Information on the PCT system and various PCT-related bodies is available on the WIPO website. Additional technical information regarding the PCT system, including forms as well as filing and fee information, is available on the USPTO’s PCT webpage.
Patent Law Treaty
The Patent Law Treaty (PLT) was adopted in 2000, with the globally shared aim of harmonizing, streamlining, and limiting formalities in the patent application process. In December 2012, Congress passed the Patent Law Treaties Implementation Act of 2012 to, among other things, implement the provisions of the Patent Law Treaty into U.S. law and practice.
For more information about the PLT, visit WIPO’s PLT webpage. For additional technical information, visit the USPTO’s PLT webpage.
Collaboration
Standing Committee on the Law of Patents
WIPO, through its Standing Committee for the Law of Patents (SCP), provides a global forum for substantive, patent-focused discussions. Past work has focused on global patent law harmonization and has resulted in normative outcomes such as the previously mentioned PLT. For more information on the USPTO’s work at the SCP, see the USPTO’s patent law harmonization webpage.
IP5
IP5 is a forum of the world’s five largest intellectual property offices: the USPTO, the European Patent Office (EPO), the Japan Patent Office (JPO), the Korean Ministry of Intellectual Property (MOIP), and the National Intellectual Property Administration of the People’s Republic of China (CNIPA). It was established in 2007 under the leadership and vision of the USPTO as cooperation foundry for improving the efficiency of the global patent system. For more information about this forum, see the IP5 website.
Trilateral
The USPTO, EPO, and JPO have met since 1983 to discuss areas of cooperation. These discussions have centered on sharing search tools, seeking ways to benefit in the advances in information technology, establishing international standards, and comparing patent search and examination practices. For more information about this cooperation, a precursor to the IP5, see the Trilateral website.
Patent worksharing
The USPTO enters into patent worksharing arrangements, including Accelerated Patent Grant (APG) the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH), with counterpart IP offices worldwide. Worksharing arrangements streamline the patent examination process by promoting expeditious, less costly, and more effective patent protection. For more information, see the USPTO’s patent worksharing webpage.
Other patent policy initiatives
The USPTO works in a variety of other areas to pursue its goal of providing leadership and expertise in international and domestic issues relevant to the protection of patents, including Patents for Humanity.