US Patent and Trademark Office as seen from National Airport
The US Patent and Trademark Office is located in Arlington County, Virginia, at Crystal City. The Office overlooks Washington Reagan National Airport, and can be reached from the airport by the Washington Metro subway system (go one stop toward Washington DC from the National Airport station to the Crystal City station. Turn left from the mid-level of the escalator exit from Crystal City station.)
Crystal City is divided into complexes each typically having 6 office buildings, 11 floors tall. The US Patent and Trademark Office is mostly located in the Crystal Plaza and Crystal Park office complexes. Map of Crystal City
Crystal Park Building 2 houses the offices of the Commissioner and Assistant Commissioners on the 9th floor, Examining Group 2700 (computers) occupying most of the building, and the Patent Museum and Public Affairs office (located on the ground level).
The US Patent and Trademark Office Public Search Room, the Scientific Library, and the majority of examiners are in Crystal Plaza buildings 2, 3, 4, and 3-4. The entrance to the Public Search Room is through the lobby of Crystal Plaza Building 3.
The Public Search Room contains tables for searching US patents, and the stack area (open stacks) containing printed copies of US patents arranged by classification. Additionally computer terminals are available for online searching of the USPTO's Automated Patent System electronic search system for US and Japanese patents (better searched via Internet at the USPTO and JPO web sites, which unlike APS have drawing images) and computer access to the classification system.
USPTO Public Search Room (main work area)
USPTO Public Search Room--North Stacks area
Crystal Plaza Building 3 also provides access to the US Patent and Trademark Office Scientific Library, located on the 2nd floor of Building 3-4. The Scientific Library houses technical journals and also provides access to copies of non-US patent documents (not in searchable form) from nearly all patent-issuing countries.
Main area of US Patent and Trademark Office Scientific Library.
Computer terminals providing access to the Library's catalog are in
the background of this photo.
Entrance to the main stack area (open stacks) is through the door shown.
Stack area of US Patent and Trademark Office Scientific Library
Additionally, Crystal Plaza Buildings 2, 3, and 4, and Crystal Park 2 (and several other buildings) house the Examining Groups, and provide both offices for the examiners and examiner search file areas (where members of the public also search the non-US patent documents and classified technical literature).
Patent Examiner's Office, located in Crystal Plaza building 4.
This office is shared by two assistant examiners
(located in Group 2800 and assigned to US Patent Class 257, Semiconductor
Devices)
Examiner search room, located in Crystal Plaza Building 4, Group 2800,
class 257.
The white labels indicate US patent documents.
Pink labels are non-US patent documents, and blue labels are classified
technical literature.
