INTRODUCTION

Constitutional Basis website at www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/

consolidated_laws.pdf.
The Constitution of the United States provides: 35 U.S.C. 1 Establishment.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— The United States Patent and
“Art. 1, Sec. 8. The Congress shall have power . . .
Trademark Office is established as an agency of the United
To promote the progress of science and useful arts, States, within the Department of Commerce. In carrying out its
by securing for limited times to authors and inventors functions, the United States Patent and Trademark Office shall
the exclusive right to their respective writings and be subject to the policy direction of the Secretary of Commerce,
discoveries.” but otherwise shall retain responsibility for decisions regarding
the management and administration of its operations and shall
exercise independent control of its budget allocations and
Statutes expenditures, personnel decisions and processes, procurements,
and other administrative and management functions in
accordance with this title and applicable provisions of law. Those
Pursuant to the provision of the Constitution, operations designed to grant and issue patents and those
Congress has over the years passed a number of operations which are designed to facilitate the registration of
statutes under which the U.S. Patent and Trademark trademarks shall be treated as separate operating units within
Office (USPTO) is organized and our patent system the Office.
is established. The provisions of the statutes can in (b) OFFICES.— The United States Patent and Trademark
no way be changed or waived by the USPTO. Office shall maintain its principal office in the metropolitan
Washington, D.C., area, for the service of process and papers
and for the purpose of carrying out its functions. The United
Prior to January 1, 1953, the law relating to patents States Patent and Trademark Office shall be deemed, for
consisted of various sections of the Revised Statutes purposes of venue in civil actions, to be a resident of the district
of 1874, derived from the Patent Act of 1870 and in which its principal office is located, except where jurisdiction
numerous amendatory and additional acts. is otherwise provided by law. The United States Patent and
Trademark Office may establish satellite offices in such other
places in the United States as it considers necessary and
By an Act of Congress approved July 19, 1952, appropriate in the conduct of its business.
which came into effect on January 1, 1953, the patent (c) REFERENCE.— For purposes of this title, the United
laws were revised and codified in Title 35 of the States Patent and Trademark Office shall also be referred to as
United States Code. In referring to a particular the “Office” and the “Patent and Trademark Office.”
section of the patent code the citation is given, for Rules
example, as, 35 U.S.C. 1. The United States Code
is available online at http://uscode.house.gov/.
The USPTO is authorized by statute, subject to the
Upon occasion, additional provisions pertaining to
policy direction of the Secretary of Commerce, to
patents are set forth in a Public Law but are not
establish regulations, not inconsistent with law, for
codified. Examples are some sections of the
the conduct of proceedings in the USPTO. The rules
Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA), Public
govern examiners and other Office personnel,
Law 112-29, 125 Stat. 284. The Public Laws are
applicants, patent practitioners, and third parties.
available at www.congress.gov/public-laws.
These regulations or rules and amendments thereto
Title 35 of the United States Code and sections 14,
are published in the Federal Register and in the
18, and 33 of the AIA are reproduced in Appendix
Official Gazette. In the Federal Register and in the
L of the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure
Code of Federal Regulations, the rules pertaining to
(MPEP), however the Public Laws are the
patents are in Parts 1, 3, 4, 5, 11, 41, 42, and 90 of
authoritative source and should be consulted if a
Title 37, Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights. In
need arises to verify the authenticity of the language
referring to a particular section of the rules the
reproduced in the MPEP. A copy of the consolidated
citation is given, for example, as 37 CFR 1.31. A
patent laws that incorporates any statutory revisions
booklet entitled “Code of Federal Regulations, Title
that became effective subsequent to the latest
37, Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights,” published
revision of the MPEP is available on the USPTO
by the Office of the Federal Register, contains all of
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 MANUAL OF PATENT EXAMINING PROCEDURE

the patent rules as well as trademark rules and pertaining to objections on formal matters may be
copyright rules. Persons desiring a copy of this reviewed by petition to the Director of the USPTO
booklet should order a copy from the U.S. under 37 CFR 1.181 (see MPEP § 1002), and that
Government Online Bookstore at portion of the examiner’s action pertaining to the
https://bookstore.gpo.gov/CFR. The Electronic rejection of claims on the merits may be reviewed
Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR), available at by appeal to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in
www.ecfr.gov, is a currently updated version of the accordance with 37 CFR Part 41, subpart B (see also
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), although it is MPEP Chapter 1200). In citing decisions as authority
not an official legal edition of the CFR. The Federal for the examiner's actions, the examiner should cite
R eg i s t e r i s ava i l a b l e o n l i n e a t the decision in the manner set forth in MPEP §
www.federalregister.gov/. 707.06.

The rules pertaining to patents are reproduced in Publications Available from the U.S.
Appendix R of the MPEP, however, the Federal Government Publishing Office
Register is the authoritative source and should be
consulted if a need arises to verify the authenticity For current price and availability information, visit
of the language reproduced in the MPEP. A copy of the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) web
the consolidated patent rules that incorporates any site (http://bookstore.gpo.gov), call the GPO Order
regulatory revisions that became effective subsequent Desk (202-512-1800 or 1-866-512-1800), or send a
to the latest revision of the MPEP is available on the fax to 202-512-2104.
U S P T O w e b s i t e a t
w w w. u s p t o . g o v / w e b / o f fi c e s / p a c / m p e p /
Products and Services Available From the
consolidated_rules.pdf.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Director’s Orders and Notices
General information about patents, trademarks,
products and services offered by the USPTO is
From time to time, the Under Secretary of Commerce available at www.uspto.gov or by calling the USPTO
for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO, Contact Center at:
formerly the Commissioner of Patents and
Trademarks, has issued Orders and Notices relating
800-PTO-9199 or 571-272-1000
to various specific situations that have arisen in
operating the USPTO. Notices and circulars of
(TDD) 571-272-9950.
information or instructions have also been issued by
other USPTO officials under authority of the
Director. Orders and Notices have served various An automated message system is available 7 days a
purposes including giving examiners instruction, week, 24 hours a day providing informational
information, interpretations, and the like. Others responses to frequently asked questions and the
have been for the information of the public, advising ability to order certain documents. Customer service
what the USPTO will do under specified representatives are available from 8:30 a.m. - 8:00
circumstances. Notices published in the Official p.m. ET, Monday-Friday excluding federal holidays.
Gazette, the official journal of the USPTO, are
a v a i l a b l e o n l i n e a t Patent and trademark related bulk data products
www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/official-gazette. available from the USPTO are described on the
electronic data products page of the USPTO’s
website (www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/
Decisions
electronic-bulk-data-products).
In addition to the statutes and rules, the actions taken
For further information on electronic information
by the examiner in the examination of applications
products, contact:
for patents are to a great extent governed by
decisions on prior cases. Applicants dissatisfied with
an examiner’s action may have it reviewed. In
general, that portion of the examiner’s action

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 MANUAL OF PATENT EXAMINING PROCEDURE
Electronic Information Products Division
EIPD, Randolph Square
2800 S. Randolph Street
Arlington, VA 22206Telephone: 571-272-5600
Fax: 571-273-0110
E-mail: ipd@uspto.gov
For further information on patent and trademark
copy/document sales, contact:
Office of Public Records (OPR) Customer Service
Telephone: 571-272-3150 or 800-972-6382
Fax: 571-273-3250
Email: dsd@uspto.gov
Website:
http://ebiz1.uspto.gov/oems25p/index.html
See MPEP § 1730 for additional information sources.

3 Rev. 08.2017, January 2018