The United States Patent and Trademark Office
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) is responsible for granting and managing patents in the United States.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office … shall retain responsibility for decisions regarding the management and administration of its operations and shall exercise independent control of its budget allocations and expenditures, personnel decisions and processes, procurements, and other administrative and management functions in accordance with this title and applicable provisions of law. Those operations designed to grant and issue patents and those operations which are designed to facilitate the registration of trademarks shall be treated as separate operating units within the Office.
— 35 U.S. Code § 1 (a).
The authority of the USPTO is subject to the policy direction of the Secretary of Commerce.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office is established as an agency of the United States, within the Department of Commerce. In carrying out its functions, the United States Patent and Trademark Office shall be subject to the policy direction of the Secretary of Commerce.
— 35 U.S. Code § 1 (a).
The statute governing patents is 35 U.S. Code. This statute permits the USPTO to establish rules to govern their own proceedings.
[The USPTO] may establish regulations, not inconsistent with law, which … shall govern the conduct of proceedings in the Office. ... facilitate and expedite the processing of patent applications … may govern the recognition and conduct of agents, attorneys, or other persons representing applicants or other parties before the Office … provide for prioritization of examination of applications for products, processes, or technologies that are important to the national economy or national competitiveness without recovering the aggregate extra cost of providing such prioritization[.]
— 35 U.S.C. §2(b)(2).
The USPTO’s rules are set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 37- Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights. Patent examiners follow The Manual of Patent Examining Procedure in evaluating patent applications.