Who has the authority to issue patents?
The Constitution of the United States established the right of patenting and conferred power to issue patents to Congress to “Promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors and exclusive rights to their respective writings and discoveries” (U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8). The laws passed Congress relating to patents are codified at U.S. Code Title 35. The Department of Commerce’s Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) is the federal agency designated to evaluate patent applications.
