Glossary
- Patent attorney
- A lawyer admitted to a state bar who has also passed the patent bar and is registered with the USPTO.
- Patent agent
- A non-lawyer registered by the USPTO to prepare and prosecute patent applications.
- Patent bar
- The USPTO's Examination for Registration to Practice in Patent Cases.
- JD
- Juris Doctor, the law degree required to sit a state bar exam.
- OED
- The USPTO's Office of Enrollment and Discipline, which approves exam applications, registers practitioners and handles discipline.
- Category A
- USPTO eligibility route for applicants with a listed science or engineering degree.
- Category B
- USPTO eligibility route for other degrees backed by qualifying science and engineering coursework.
- Category C
- USPTO eligibility route through passing the Fundamentals of Engineering exam.
- Registration number
- The number the USPTO assigns to each registered patent attorney and agent; it can be checked in the USPTO's practitioner search.
- Patent prosecution
- Preparing, filing and arguing a patent application before the USPTO until it is granted or abandoned.