patent office

American  

noun

1. (often initial capital letters) a governmental agency that administers and regulates patents and trademarks, in the U.S. forming a division of the Department of Commerce.

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Patent Office British  

/ ˈpætənt /

noun

1.  Pat. Off.  a government department that issues patents

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Example Sentences

And later, in 1853, the U.S. patent office denied Hunt’s belated application for his 1830s sewing-machine invention.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026

Attorney Kevin Yorn, who represents McConaughey, said the aim of filing with the patent office was "to make sure that our clients have the same kind of protections that their businesses have."

From Barron's • Jan. 15, 2026

After lower courts sided with the patent office, Thaler took his appeal to the Supreme Court, where a panel of judges unanimously dismissed the case.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 20, 2023

The fight with MGH’s patent office dragged on for years, long after the patents were licensed to drug company Novo Nordisk and it was deep in its GLP-1 drug development program.

From Science Magazine • Sep. 8, 2023

Physicists as a rule are not overattentive to the pronouncements of Swiss patent office clerks, and so, despite the abundance of useful tidings, Einstein’s papers attracted little notice.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson