patent office

{{Short description|Government agency that issues patents}}

{{For|offices created by letters patent|Letters patent (United Kingdom)}}

{{Patent law}}

A patent office is a governmental or intergovernmental organization which controls the issue of patents. In other words, "patent offices are government bodies that may grant a patent or reject the patent application based on whether the application fulfils the requirements for patentability."European Commission, [http://ec.europa.eu/competition/sectors/pharmaceuticals/inquiry/preliminary_report.pdf Pharmaceutical Sector Inquiry, Preliminary Report (DG Competition Staff Working Paper)], 28 November 2008, page 89 (pdf, 1.95 MB).

List of patent offices

For a list of patent offices and their websites, see the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) maintained list, [http://www.wipo.int/directory/en/urls.jsp here].

The entries shown in italics are regional or international patent offices.

List of past patent offices or the like

See also

References

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