United States Patent and Trademark Office

Three people, one wearing a medallion, pose in front of a backdrop of a coin with the images of Lincoln and Edison engraved on it

USPTO Acting Director Teresa Stanek Rea and NIHF Chairman Fred Allen honor Arthur Ashkin, inventor of optical trapping—a process that traps small particles by using laser light—as he is inducted into the hall of fame.

USPTO Honors Inventors Hall of Fame Inductees

The United States Patent and Trademark Office had the exciting privilege of honoring 17 of America’s greatest innovators Wednesday night, when they were inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF).

People sitting behind tables in a meeting room

Patent Public Advisory Committee Meeting

The next quarterly meeting of the Patent Public Advisory Committee (PPAC) will be held on Thursday, May 16. The sessions are public and you can watch them online.

Watch Our Software Partnership Listening Sessions

We now have videos available of our software partnership roundtables held in Silicon Valley and New York City.

The Best Places to Work in the Federal Government

USPTO Again Named to Top Places to Work in Federal Government

The USPTO was named one of the federal government’s Best Places to Work in 2012 by the non-profit Partnership for Public Service. The USPTO ranked 5th out of 292 federal agency subcomponents. In 2009, USPTO ranked 105th, then rose to 56th in 2010, and 19th in 2011.

Read Official-Looking Solicitations Carefully

The USPTO has received numerous complaints from patent and trademark owners about official-looking solicitations asking for money that are not from the USPTO.