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58-652: APHIS was created in 1972 by Secretary's Memorandum No. 1769. The origins of the agency predate creation of USDA, to 1854 when the Office of Entomologist, Agricultural Section, U.S. Patent Office was created. It was the first of three agencies that eventually were merged to form APHIS. In 1881, a Cattle Commission was created in the Department of the Treasury that three years later was transferred to USDA. Plant quarantine functions followed in 1912 when USDA's Federal Horticultural Board

116-468: A 2005 move from the Crystal City area of neighboring Arlington , Virginia . 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

174-481: A licensed attorney; a patent attorney is a person who has passed both a state bar and the patent bar and is in good standing as an attorney. A patent agent can only act in a representative capacity in patent matters presented to the USPTO, and may not represent a patent holder or applicant in a court of law. To be eligible for taking the patent bar exam, a candidate must possess a degree in "engineering or physical science or

232-584: A limited time, whenever, in his opinion, it is necessary for the protection of animals in the United States against infectious or contagious diseases. 21 U.S.C.   § 113a authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to establish research facilities for hoof and mouth disease and other animal diseases which “in the opinion of the Secretary” constitute a threat to U.S. livestock. Mandates strict controls for

290-469: A patent application and prosecute it on his or her own behalf ( pro se ). If it appears to a patent examiner that an inventor filing a pro se application is not familiar with the proper procedures of the Patent Office, the examiner may suggest that the filing party obtain representation by a registered patent attorney or patent agent. The patent examiner cannot recommend a specific attorney or agent, but

348-689: A patent case. Under the America Invents Act , the BPAI was converted to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board or "PTAB". Similarly, decisions of trademark examiners may be appealed to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board , with subsequent appeals directed to the Federal Circuit, or a civil action may also be brought. In recent years, the USPTO has seen increasing delays between when a patent application

406-499: A permanent end to fee diversion. The discussion of which party can appropriate the fees is more than a financial question. Patent fees represent a policy lever that influences both the number of applications submitted to the office as well as their quality. The USPTO examines applications for trademark registration, which can be filed under five different filing bases: use in commerce, intent to use, foreign application, foreign registration, or international registration. If approved,

464-406: A slowdown in new application filings since the onset of the late-2000s economic crisis , and projections of substantial declines in maintenance fees in coming years, the agency imposed a hiring freeze in early March 2009. In 2006, USPTO instituted a new training program for patent examiners called the "Patent Training Academy". It is an eight-month program designed to teach new patent examiners

522-416: Is also skill required when searching for prior art that is used to support the application and to prevent applying for a patent for something that may be unpatentable. A patent examiner will make special efforts to help pro se inventors understand the process but the failure to adequately understand or respond to an Office action from the USPTO can endanger the inventor's rights, and may lead to abandonment of

580-599: Is defined as "any member of the animal kingdom (except a human)." 7 U.S.C.   § 8302 (1) (West 2009). Animal Welfare Act of 1966 , 7 U.S.C.   § 2131 et seq. Originally intended to prevent the theft of pets for sale to research facilities, the AWA now broadly regulates minimum standards of care and treatment of animals in research, exhibition, transport, and by dealers. It exempts birds, rats, or mice bred for use in research, horses not used for research, cold blooded animals, and all farm animals used in

638-496: Is divided into six operational programs units: APHIS is also divided into three management support units (Legislative and Public Affairs, Marketing and Regulatory Programs Business Services, and Policy and Program Development), and two offices that support government-wide initiatives: the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security and Office of Civil Rights Enforcement and Compliance. The current APHIS Administrator, Kevin Shea ,

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696-486: Is filed and when it issues. To address its workload challenges, the USPTO has undertaken an aggressive program of hiring and recruitment. The USPTO hired 1,193 new patent examiners in Fiscal Year 2006 (year ending September 30, 2006), 1,215 new examiners in fiscal 2007, and 1,211 in fiscal year 2008. The USPTO expected to continue hiring patent examiners at a rate of approximately 1,200 per year through 2012; however, due to

754-415: Is particularly true in the fast-growing area of business method patents . As of 2005, patent examiners in the business method area were still examining patent applications filed in 2001. The delay was attributed by spokesmen for the Patent Office to a combination of a sudden increase in business method patent filings after the 1998 State Street Bank decision , the unfamiliarity of patent examiners with

812-508: Is still available. [REDACTED] Media related to Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service at Wikimedia Commons United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office ( USPTO ) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexandria, Virginia , after

870-1098: Is two blocks due south of the King Street station) and Eisenhower Avenue station where the actual Alexandria Campus is located between Duke Street (on the North) to Eisenhower Avenue (on the South), and between John Carlyle Street (on the East) to Elizabeth Lane (on the West) in Alexandria, Virginia. An additional building in Arlington, Virginia , was opened in 2009. The USPTO was expected by 2014 to open its first ever satellite offices in Detroit , Dallas , Denver , and Silicon Valley to reduce backlog and reflect regional industrial strengths. The first satellite office opened in Detroit on July 13, 2012. In 2013, due to

928-598: The Animal Welfare Act and carrying out wildlife damage management activities.” APHIS aims to protect American animals, plants, and the agricultural industry by offering: The threats and challenges within APHIS' scope include: APHIS is granted specific authority under several federal statutes: Animal Health Protection Act , 7 U.S.C.   § 8301 et seq. Governs the prevention, detection, control, and eradication of diseases and pests of animals, where "animal"

986-701: The Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences , an administrative law body of the USPTO. Decisions of the BPAI could further be appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit , or a civil suit could be brought against the Commissioner of Patents in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia . The United States Supreme Court may ultimately decide on

1044-655: The Trilateral Patent Offices . 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 . The legal basis for the United States patent system is the Copyright Clause in Section 8 of Article I of the U.S. Constitution , which gives Congress

1102-539: The USDA OIG published a report which identified numerous failures on the part of APHIS’ Animal Care (AC) unit to adequately enforce the AWA, including: The OIG audit further reported that at almost one-third of facilities, IACUCs failed to ensure that principal investigators (PIs) considered alternatives to painful procedures; the report cites this failure on the part of IACUCs as being the most frequent AWA violation at animal research facilities. In 2014, The USDA's Office of

1160-601: The United States Constitution . The PTO's mission is to promote "industrial and technological progress in the United States and strengthen the national economy" by: The USPTO is headquartered at the Alexandria Campus, consisting of 11 buildings in a city-like development surrounded by ground floor retail and high rise residential buildings between the Metro stations of King Street station (the main search building

1218-874: The budget sequestration , the satellite office for Silicon Valley, which is home to one of the nation's top patent-producing cities, was put on hold. However, renovation and infrastructure updates continued after the sequestration, and the Silicon Valley location opened in the San Jose City Hall in 2015. As of September 30, 2009 , the end of the U.S. government's fiscal year, the PTO had 9,716 employees, nearly all of whom are based at its five-building headquarters complex in Alexandria. Of those, 6,242 were patent examiners (almost all of whom were assigned to examine utility patents ; only 99 were assigned to examine design patents ) and 388 were trademark examining attorneys ;

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1276-508: The 2009 National Trademark Expo, the Trademark Office designed and launched a kid-friendly trademark mascot known as T. Markey, who appears as an anthropomorphized registered trademark symbol. T. Markey is featured prominently on the Kids section of the USPTO website, alongside fellow IP mascots Ms. Pat Pending (with her robot cat GeaRS) and Mark Trademan. In 2020, trademark applications marked

1334-662: The 30 violators in our sample received” and that the Service “grant[ed] good faith reductions without merit or us[ed] a smaller number of violations than the actual number.” According to the USDA's report, APHIS agreed with the findings and will begin implanting reforms. On 4 February 2017, the USDA Animal Care Search Tool, a searchable database containing documents with details about the animals held by individual US animal research facility together with inspection and action reports,

1392-584: The Commissioner for Patents oversaw three main bodies, headed by the former Deputy Commissioner for Patent Operations, Peggy Focarino, the Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy, which was held by Andrew Hirshfeld up until 2015, and finally the Commissioner for Patent Resources and Planning, which was vacant at that time. The Patent Operations of the office is divided into nine different technology centers that deal with various arts. Prior to 2012, decisions of patent examiners could be appealed to

1450-605: The Consumer and Marketing Service (later known as the Agricultural Marketing Service ) were added to APHS, thus creating the contemporary APHIS. In 2003, many APHIS agricultural border inspectors were transferred to U.S. Customs and Border Protection , a unit of the newly created U.S. Department of Homeland Security . APHIS is the primary agency responsible for responding to animal and plant disease(s) and pest emergencies as well as to other emergencies as set forth by

1508-676: The Deputy Administrator for PPQ represents the United States in the North American Plant Protection Organization and other international fora related to plant health and quarantine. In addition to its domestic operations, APHIS International Services staff several overseas offices, including veterinary and plant health attachés in U.S. diplomatic missions as well as technicians carrying out disease and pest eradication and control programs. On February 26, 2022 Deputy Administrator Osama El-Lissy left to become

1566-483: The Inspector General (OIG) criticized the Service for a number of issues including its failure to efficiently allocate resources and its failure to administer appropriate fines for animal welfare violations among other issues. The report found the Service conducted inspections at facilities that did not have any animals regulated under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). According to the report, “[Animal Care] did not make

1624-525: The National Response Plan (NRP) completed in 2005 (APHIS Strategic Plan 2003–2008). APHIS celebrated its 50th anniversary on April 2, 2022. The originally-stated purpose of APHIS is to “protect the animal and plant resources of the nation” and carry out “a poultry and meat inspection program.” A more modern articulation of APHIS's mission is “protecting and promoting U.S. agricultural health, regulating genetically engineered organisms, administering

1682-409: The Patent Office does post a list of those who are registered. While the inventor of a relatively simple-to-describe invention may well be able to produce an adequate specification and detailed drawings, there remains language complexity in what is claimed , either in the particular claim language of a utility application, or in the manner in which drawings are presented in a design application. There

1740-521: The Secretary of the International Plant Protection Convention . As the name suggests, IES takes referrals from other APHIS personnel as to investigations and enforcements that are needed based on personnel's observations in the course of their duties. APHIS has a budget of approximately $ 800 million annually and employs about 7,000 people, about 5,000 of which are deployed as inspectors at ports, borders and on farms. In 2005,

1798-542: The U.S. Trademark Office originated in China. Since 2008, the Trademark Office has hosted a National Trademark Expo every two years, billing it as "a free, family-friendly event designed to educate the public about trademarks and their importance in the global marketplace." The Expo features celebrity speakers such as Anson Williams (of the television show Happy Days ) and basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and has numerous trademark-holding companies as exhibitors. Before

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1856-418: The USPTO director. She was sworn in on April 13, 2022. On December 16, 2022, Kathi Vidal announced that Vaishali Udupa, an intellectual property attorney, engineer, and currently a top executive from Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), will join the 13,000-person Department of Commerce agency as the new Commissioner for Patents effective January 17, 2023. For many years, Congress has "diverted" about 10% of

1914-464: The application and also includes an interview with the examiner. The first accelerated patent was granted on March 15, 2007, with a six-month issuance time. As of the end of 2008, there were 1,208,076 patent applications pending at the Patent Office. At the end of 1997, the number of applications pending was 275,295. Therefore, over those eleven years there was a 439% increase in the number of pending applications. December 2012 data showed that there

1972-501: The application. The USPTO accepts patent applications filed in electronic form. Inventors or their patent agents/attorneys can file applications as Adobe PDF documents. Filing fees can be paid by credit card or by a USPTO "deposit account". The USPTO web site provides free electronic copies of issued patents and patent applications as multiple-page TIFF (graphic) documents. The site also provides Boolean search and analysis tools. The USPTO's free distribution service only distributes

2030-516: The authority to regulate and to prohibit or restrict the importation, exportation, and the interstate movement of plants, plant products, certain biological control organisms, noxious weeds, and plant pests. Federal Seed Act, Title III , 7 U.S.C.   §§ 1551 – 1611 Requires accurate labeling and purity standards for seeds in commerce, and prohibits the importation and movement of adulterated or misbranded seeds. Honeybee Act , 7 U.S.C.   §§ 281 – 286 Prohibits or restricts

2088-534: The best use of its limited resources, which could have been assigned to inspect other more problematic facilities, including breeders, dealers, and exhibitors.” The Service was also criticized for prematurely closing cases that involved “grave (e.g., animal deaths) or repeat welfare violations.” When the service did levy fines against institutions for AWA violations, the Inspector General's report found “penalties that were reduced by an average of 86 percent from... authorized maximum penalty per violation. Consequently, 26 of

2146-438: The bulk of the employees at USPTO. They hold degrees in various scientific disciplines, but do not necessarily hold law degrees. Unlike patent examiners, trademark examiners must be licensed attorneys. All examiners work under a strict, "count"-based production system. For every application, "counts" are earned by composing, filing, and mailing a first Office action on the merits, and upon disposal of an application. In 2012,

2204-506: The business and financial arts (e.g., banking, insurance , stock trading etc.), and the issuance of a number of controversial patents ( e.g. , U.S. patent 5,960,411 " Amazon one click patent ") in the business method area. Effective August 2006, the USPTO introduced an accelerated patent examination procedure in an effort to allow inventors a speedy evaluation of an application with a final disposition within twelve months. The procedure requires additional information to be submitted with

2262-453: The equivalent of such a degree". Any person who practices trademark law before the USPTO must be an active member in good standing of the highest court of any state. The United States allows any citizen from any country to sit for the patent bar (if he/she has the requisite technical background). Only Canada has a reciprocity agreement with the United States that confers upon a patent agent similar rights. An unrepresented inventor may file

2320-401: The fees that the USPTO collected into the general treasury of the United States. In effect, this took money collected from the patent system to use for the general budget. This fee diversion has been generally opposed by patent practitioners (e.g., patent attorneys and patent agents ), inventors, the USPTO, as well as former federal judge Paul R. Michel . These stakeholders would rather use

2378-403: The fundamentals of patent law, practice and examination procedure in a college-style environment. Because of the impending USPTO budget crisis previously alluded to, it had been rumored that the academy would be closed by the end of 2009. Focarino, then Acting Commissioner for Patents, denied in a May 2009 interview that the academy was being shut down, but stated that it would be cut back because

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2436-569: The funds to improve the patent office and patent system, such as by implementing the USPTO's 21st Century Strategic Plan. The last six annual budgets of the George W. Bush administration did not propose to divert any USPTO fees, and the first budget of the Barack Obama administration continued this practice, as well as the second budget of the Trump administration; however, stakeholders continue to press for

2494-511: The hiring goal for new examiners in fiscal 2009 was reduced to 600. Ultimately, 588 new patent examiners were hired in fiscal year 2009. In 2016, the USPTO partnered with the Girl Scouts of the USA to create an " Intellectual Property Patch" merit badge , which is awarded to Girl Scouts at four different levels. In October 2021, President Joe Biden nominated attorney Kathi Vidal to serve as

2552-477: The importation or entry of honeybees and honeybee semen into or through the United States in order to prevent the introduction and spread of diseases and parasites harmful to honeybees, as well as genetically undesirable germ plasm and undesirable bee species. Animal quarantine laws: 21 U.S.C.   § 101 allows the President, by proclamation, to suspend the importation of all or any class of animals for

2610-651: The inadvertent introduction of brown tree snakes into other areas of the United States from Guam. Lacey Act , 16 U.S.C.   §§ 3371 – 3378 Makes it unlawful for any person to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase any fish or wildlife or plant taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any law, treaty, or regulation of the United States or in violation of any Indian tribal law whether in interstate or foreign commerce. Plant Protection Act , 7 U.S.C.   § 7701 et seq. Consolidates all or part of ten existing USDA plant health laws into one comprehensive law. Gives USDA

2668-514: The patent and trademark applications, and participating in administrative appeals and other proceedings before the PTO examiners, examining attorneys and boards. The USPTO sets its own standards for who may practice. Any person who practices patent law before the USPTO must become a registered patent attorney or agent. A patent agent is a person who has passed the USPTO registration examination (the "patent bar") but has not passed any state bar exam to become

2726-551: The patent documents as a set of TIFF files. Numerous free and commercial services provide patent documents in other formats, such as Adobe PDF and CPC . The USPTO has been criticized for granting patents for impossible or absurd, already known, or arguably obvious inventions. Economists have documented that, although the USPTO makes mistakes when granting patents, these mistakes might be less prominent than some might believe. The USPTO has been criticized for taking an inordinate amount of time in examining patent applications. This

2784-616: The power to grant patents and copyrights on a national basis. Trademark law, on the other hand, is considered to be authorized by the Commerce Clause . 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 USPTO maintains a permanent, interdisciplinary historical record of all U.S. patent applications in order to fulfill objectives outlined in

2842-671: The production of “food and fiber.” It provides for licensing and registration of all animal dealers and exhibitors. Horse Protection Act , 15 U.S.C.   §§ 1821 – 1831 Prohibits horses subjected to a process called “soring” (injecting or applying chemicals to a horse's forelegs to accentuate its gait) from participating in and being transported to exhibitions, sales, shows, or auctions. Animal Damage Control Act of March 2, 1931 , 7 U.S.C.   §§ 426 – 426c Provides broad authority for investigation, demonstrations and control of “injurious animal species” (mammalian predators, rodents and birds.) Amended in 1991 to prevent

2900-406: The rest are support staff. While the agency has noticeably grown in recent years, the rate of growth was far slower in fiscal 2009 than in the recent past; this is borne out by data from fiscal 2005 to the present: As of the end of FY 2018, the USPTO was composed of 12,579 federal employees, including 8,185 patent examiners, 579 trademark examiners, and 3,815 other staff. Patent examiners make up

2958-682: The services [it] provide[s]". The Office is headed by the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, currently held by Kathi Vidal as of April 19, 2022. Andrei Iancu was the former director of the USPTO until he left office on January 20, 2021. The USPTO cooperates with the European Patent Office (EPO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO) as one of

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3016-601: The sharpest declines and inclines in American history. During the spring, COVID-19 lockdowns led to reduced filings, which then increased in July 2020 to exceed the previous year. August 2020 was subsequently the highest month of trademark filings in the history of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The USPTO only allows certain qualified persons to practice before the USPTO. Practice includes filing of patent and trademark applications on behalf of individuals and companies, prosecuting

3074-891: The trademarks are registered on either the Principal Register or the Supplemental Register , depending upon whether the mark meets the appropriate distinctiveness criteria. This federal system governs goods and services distributed via interstate commerce, and operates alongside state level trademark registration systems. Trademark applications have grown substantially in recent years, jumping from 296,490 new applications in 2000, to 345,000 new applications in 2014, to 458,103 new applications in 2018. Recent growth has been driven partially by growing numbers of trademark applications originating in China; trademark applications from China have grown more than 12-fold since 2013, and in 2017, one in every nine trademark applications reviewed by

3132-553: The use of any live virus at such research facilities. Permits the Secretary to hire up to five technical experts or scientists at a maximum paygrade of GS-18. (This appears to be one of the most prescriptive statutes that USDA administers.) 21 U.S.C.   § 114i authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to establish and carry out a program for the eradication of pseudorabies in United States swine populations. Virus-Serum-Toxin Act , 21 U.S.C.   §§ 151 – 158 APHIS

3190-499: Was 597,579 unexamined patent applications in the backlog. During the four years since 2009, more than a 50% reduction was achieved. First action pendency was reported as 19.2 months. In 2012, the USPTO initiated an internal investigation into allegations of fraud by employees taking advantage of its remote work policies. Investigators discovered that some patent examiners had lied about the hours they had worked, but high level officials prevented access to computer records, thus limiting

3248-634: Was appointed in June 2013. His immediate predecessor, Dr. Greg Parham, was appointed in April 2011. The Deputy Administrator for Veterinary Services also functions as Chief Veterinary Officer of the United States, and represents the U.S. Government at the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) is the National Plant Protection Organization ;

3306-489: Was created. Between the 1880s and 1930s, these evolved into the USDA Bureaus of Entomology, of Animal Industry, and of Plant Quarantine, respectively. In 1953, those three bureaus were made into the new Agricultural Research Service . In 1971, the animal and plant regulatory functions were separated from ARS to create a new entity known as Animal and Plant Health Services. In 1972, the meat and poultry inspection divisions of

3364-537: Was removed from public access, with a stated reason of protecting personal information. The removal affects inspection reports, research facility annual reports, regulatory correspondence (such as official warnings), and certain enforcement records. Information from these documents can now only be requested via a Freedom of Information Act inquiry. This removal has been criticized as substantially limiting information on animal care in US institutions, and of inhibiting access to what

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