The Basics: What is the Role of the USPTO?

The United States Patent and Trademark Office or USPTO administers the patent and trademark laws The USPTO examines applications for patents to determine if the applicants are entitled to patents; it publishes issued patents and various publications concerning patents, records assignments of patents, maintains a search room for the use of the public to examine issued patents and records, supplies copies of records and other papers, and the like. It serves similar functions for trademarks. Illustration: First Patent Office circa 1810

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