USPTO

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO or USPTO) is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that provides patent protection to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification.The USPTO is currently based in Alexandria, Virginia, after a 2006 move from the Crystal City area of Arlington, Virginia. Since 1991, the office has been fully funded by fees charged for processing patents and trademarks. The current head of the USPTO is Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property Jon W. Dudas, who was nominated to the position by President George W. Bush in March 2004 and was then appointed on July 30, 2004. The USPTO cooperates with the European Patent Office (EPO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO) pursuant to trilateral agreements. The USPTO is also a Receiving Office, an International Searching Authority and an International Preliminary Examination Authority for international patent applications filed in accordance with the Patent Cooperation Treaty.
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United States Patent and Trademark Office, designation became effective April 3, 2000; a result of the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999 

Context: General