The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Remains Open during the Government Shutdown

As of midnight on October 1, 2025, the United States government has shut down as Congress has been unable to reach a deal on a funding bill for the 2026 fiscal year. How does this affect the United States Patent and Trademark Office?

At the time of writing this post, the USPTO remains open for business.

According to their website, “the USPTO will remain open and fully operational until further notice under operating reserves from the prior year’s fee collections.” The USPTO is a fee-funded agency of the US government. In other words, the USPTO collects fees from patent and trademark applicants. These fees can be for filing a patent or a trademark application, paying maintenance fees for patent, paying renewal fees for trademarks, paying appeal fees, etc.

There are a number of fees that the USPTO charges for various filings. You can review the full fee schedule of the USPTO here. There are so many fees at the USPTO that we sometimes joke “there is a fee for paying a fee fee.”

Needless to say, unlike other governmental agencies, the USPTO is not a cost center for the US government and does support itself through the collection of these fees.

Therefore, since the USPTO has fees in reserves that have been collected, they have the funding to remain open.

So it is business as usual for patent and trademark filers in the United States. All deadlines remain in place and the Patent and Trademark Examiners remain hard at work.

We will be sure to keep you updated as we find out more. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me (mark@uslegalteam.com) or any of our other IP attorneys at Widerman Malek.

About The Author

Mark Malek is a registered patent attorney admitted to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. With extensive experience in intellectual property law, Mark specializes in developing customized intellectual property (IP) strategies that align with clients’ long-term business objectives. His practice focuses on representing clients before the USPTO, licensing and enforcing intellectual property rights, and advising on effective IP monetization strategies. Mark’s scholarly article, Markman Exposed: Continuing Problems with Markman Hearings, continues to be cited by researchers in the field of IP law, demonstrating his thought leadership in patent litigation procedures. His community involvement includes serving on boards for Junior Achievement of the Space Coast, the Melbourne Regional Chamber of Commerce, and participation in several charitable initiatives.