The Patent and Trademark Office promulgates rules or regulations regarding the registration process. It also hears appeals from decisions denying registration. Likewise, the Copyright Office promulgates rules regarding copyright registration. This page provides links to databases which relate to these agency rules, including:
The Code of Federal Regulations
The Federal Register
Agency manuals and publications
Patent, trademark, and copyright federal regulations are all in Title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The new edition of Title 37 comes out July 1st of every year. Any changes to the official version after July 1st are in the Federal Register. Some unofficial versions of the CFR online incorporate changes in the Federal Register since the last printing of the CFR. Those updated unofficial versions are indicated below.
The Federal Register includes notices of agency proposed rules, public comments, and final rules. It is organized chronologically and is published daily, Monday-Friday, except holidays. It contains updated regulations between printings of the CFR.
The following resources allow you to find, review, and, in some cases, submit comments to proposed rules published in the Federal Register and open for comment.
Patent and Trademark Office and Copyright office manuals and other publications clarify practice and procedure before those offices. These publications are essential resources for practicing before these agencies.
