page_title: United States Patent and Trademark Office
section_title: Mission
hierarchical_section_title: United States Patent and Trademark Office / Mission
caption_attribution_description: English: 14 12 31 US Patent Office Sign Alexandria VA 01
context_page_description: The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification.
  The USPTO is "unique among federal agencies because it operates solely on fees collected by its users, and not on taxpayer dollars". Its "operating structure is like a business in that it receives requests for services—applications for patents and trademark registrations—and charges fees projected to cover the cost of performing the services [it] provide[s]".
  The USPTO is based in Alexandria, Virginia, after a 2005 move from the Crystal City area of neighboring Arlington, Virginia. The offices under Patents and the Chief Information Officer that remained just outside the southern end of Crystal City completed moving to Randolph Square, a brand-new building in Shirlington Village, on April 27, 2009.
  The current Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO is Andrei Iancu. He began his role as Director on February 8, 2018.
context_section_description: The USPTO maintains a permanent, interdisciplinary historical record of all U.S. patent applications in order to fulfill objectives outlined in the United States Constitution. The legal basis for the United States patent system is Article 1, Section 8, wherein the powers of Congress are defined.
  It states, in part:
  The Congress shall have Power ... To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.
  The PTO's mission is to promote "industrial and technological progress in the United States and strengthen the national economy" by:
  Administering the laws relating to patents and trademarks;
  Advising the Secretary of Commerce, the President of the United States, and the administration on patent, trademark, and copyright protection; and
  Providing advice on the trade-related aspects of intellectual property.
caption: Signboard of US Patent Office Sign Alexandria
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