United States Patent and Trademark Office

For over 200 years, the basic role of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has remained the same: to promote the progress of science and the useful arts by securing for limited time to inventors the exclusive right to their respective discoveries. The United States has become one of the most innovative and prosperous countries in the world in part because of our strong intellectual property (IP) system, which helps drive job creation, economic development and prosperity, U.S. competitiveness, and national security. Our IP system is what helps to incentivize and protect the deep investment of time, money, resources, and collaboration needed to solve problems, deliver solutions, and enrich the lives of many Americans and others around the world. The USPTO is at the cutting edge of the nation’s technological progress and achievement. The USPTO is the federal agency that grants patents, registers trademarks, and advises the Administration, through the Secretary of Commerce, on IP policy. The USPTO is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia. We maintain regional offices in Dallas, Texas; Denver, Colorado; Detroit, Michigan; San Jose, California; and Alexandria, Virginia (located within the USPTO headquarters). The agency employs approximately 13,000 professionals across its headquarters, regional offices, and through our robust telework program that draws talent from across the nation.