United States Patent and Trademark Office

The Patent Fraud Detection and Mitigation Working Group represents the agency’s commitment to limit improper activity in patent applications and reexamination proceedings and reduce patent application pendency.

Publishing electronic grants via our online platform Patent Center and eliminating redundancies in the process has reduced the time between grant notification and the issuance date.

As part of our efforts to reduce pendency and inventory of unexamined design applications, the USPTO is suspending expedited examination of design applications effective April 17, 2025.

The ID.me verification process is now available to Patent Center users and can be completed entirely online.

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Patents accelerate the cycle of innovation

Innovation often builds upon existing ideas, taking small steps and great leaps to solve problems and improve our everyday lives. The patent system promotes this innovation through sharing past inventions, so that others can build upon them and benefit our society.

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