Jurisdiction for Administering and Enforcing Laws Concerning Intellectual Property

Abstract

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is a governmental agency within the US Department of Commerce. The head of the USPTO is referred to as the “commissioner.” The USPTO has the responsibility for reviewing patent applications and determining whether or not to grant or issue a patent thereon. In addition, the USPTO has a similar responsibility for determining whether or not to grant registration for federal trademarks and service marks. The USPTO does not have jurisdiction to determine whether a patent or a trademark or service mark has been infringed. Moreover—except to the limited extent authorized by the patent reexamination procedure—it has no jurisdiction over issued patents and cannot make determinations of patent validity or invalidity. There are procedures, however, whereby federally registered trademarks can be canceled by the USPTO.