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Patents: Apply

Applications

General

Inventor Assistance Center

IAC

The Inventors Assistance Center (IAC) provides patent information and services to the public. The IAC is staffed by former supervisory patent examiners, experienced primary patent examiners, various intellectual property specialists, and attorneys who can answer general questions concerning patent examining policy and procedure.

Hours: Monday – Friday, 8:30 AM – 8:00 PM (ET), except federal holidays
Phone: 800-PTO-9199 (800-786-9199)
TDD/TTY: 800-877-8339

Application Assistance Unit

AAU

The staff in the Application Assistance Unit (AAU) is trained to assist with a broad range of questions and issues pertaining to pre-examination processing of patent applications by the Office of Patent Application Processing (OPAP) and the post-examination processing of patent applications by the Office of Data Management (ODM). 

Telephone: 888-786-0101
Email: HelpAAU@uspto.gov