The mission of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is:

Fostering innovation, competitiveness and economic growth, domestically and abroad by delivering high quality and timely examination of patent and trademark applications, guiding domestic and international intellectual property policy, and delivering intellectual property information and education worldwide, with a highly skilled, diverse workforce.

In FY 2019, the USPTO exceeded patent pendency goals with an average first action pendency of 14.7 months and 23.8 months for total pendency. The total application filings nearly doubled in that time, from 353,000 in FY 2002 to 667,000 in FY 2019.

FY 2019 marks the 14th consecutive year that the USPTO Trademark examining attorneys surpassed pendency and quality targets.  Additionally, in FY 2019, Trademarks took several important actions toward enhancing the accuracy of the U.S. Trademark Register and reducing fraudulent filings. Such actions include the expansion of random post-registration audits, implementation of a new U.S. Counsel Rule, and educating applicants and the public on counterfeiting.

The USPTO's Pro Se Art Unit provides dedicated educational and practical resources to small businesses, independent inventors, and under-resourced inventors. In FY 2019, around 1,200 patents were granted in applications handled by examiners in the Pro Se Art Unit. Through education and enhanced customer service, the Pro Se Art Unit helped increase accessibility to patent protection with almost 37 percent of all pro se applications examined by the Pro Se Art Unit resulting in a patent grant. In addition, examiners in the Pro Se Art Unit worked with unrepresented applicants in thousands of applications to help make the patent system more transparent and understandable.

In 2019 the USPTO published a Report to Congress pursuant to The Study of Underrepresented Classes Chasing Engineering and Science Success (SUCCESS) Act. This report contained a literature review and found a need for additional information to determine the participation rates of women, minorities, and veterans.The report concluded with some new USPTO initiatives and legislative recommendations for increasing the participation of women, minorities, and veterans as inventor-patentees and entrepreneurs.